Alternate Machinos
by Grand High Idol
Summary: The kids and Digit enter the wrong portal and are blasted into an alternate universe, where nothing is as it should be...
1. The mistake

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ALTERNATE MACHINOS

By Grand High Idol

Disclaimer: I do not own Cyberchase, nor any of its characters. (Well, duh.)

CHAPTER I: The mistake

Jackie, Matt and Inez ran across the large cybersite of Proportiona, trying their best to escape Hacker, who was in the Grim Wreaker and chasing after them. They had stolen a special item of his earlier, and he wanted it back. And if that meant trying to destroy the kids to get it, so be it.

"You've meddled with my plans for the last time, kiddies!" he shouted as he came ever closer to them. "You won't get away again!"

"We have to find a way out of here!" Jackie told the other two. "We can't outrun the Grim Wreaker!"

"I know," Inez said. "And sooner or later we _will _run out of breath."

"We need a plan," Digit said. 

"I'll try to piece together what happened earlier," Matt said. "Maybe then we can think up some way to escape…"

"We've got trouble," Dr. Marbles said as the Cybersquad fell out of the pinkish portal that took them into cyberspace so often. It was early, about an hour or so before the incident. "And this time it might actually be serious!"

"What's the problem now, Dr. Marbles?" Matt asked him. 

"It appears that Hacker has a new weapon," the Doctor informed them nervously. "I haven't seen it in action on any cybersites yet, thank goodness, but it is dangerous. He tested it on the remains of his voice statue."

"You mean the one we shut off when he was broadcasting his voice?" Inez said. "Yes, I remember that."

"What happened?" Jackie asked curiously.

"I didn't see the beginning; I think my reception was poor. But I can inform you of one thing—the statue was no longer there when he finished."

"We can start right away," Matt told him. "But it might be a bit difficult if it was as bad as you say it was."

"Whatever the circumstances, you _must _turn it off!" Dr. Marbles warned them. "If it has the same effects on cyberspace as it does on the statue, there's nothing we can do."

"We're on it, Doc!" Digit said.

"Good," Dr. Marbles said, smiling. "Since Motherboard is still in sleep mode, I need to generate a portal myself. This will only take a second."

He turned around and started typing something, then after a while another pinkish portal opened up near them. The kids and Digit immediately jumped into it, while Dr. Marbles waved to them. "Good luck!" he said.

The kids sailed through the familiar tunnel of light and virtual code until they entered another opening and fell from the sky, landing on their backs on top of a large flower. They remained on top of it for a second, then one of the petals tilted and they rolled off and hit the ground. 

Inez got up, rubbing her back. "Ow! That's the last time I ever try to land back first." She looked around. The trees towered over her and the flowers were just as tall as the one they had landed on, which was about the size of a house. She had been here before, and she knew what site it was. Cybersite Proportiona, the site of scale and size.

Matt noticed at once. "Geez, leave it to Hacker to start with as big a cybersite as this one."

Jackie nodded, then got up, brushing the dust off of her skirt. "We'd better find him quick, before he starts anything."

"Let's go!" Digit said at once, lifting himself up with his tail and flying off. The kids stared after him, then shrugged and ran after the Cybird.

They had run for at least fifteen minutes before they stopped. Noticing what they had seen at once, they gasped, then ducked in the bushes as Hacker came by, a machine that looked very much like a ray gun in his hand. He looked around, thinking he had heard something, then shook it off and called, "Buzz! Delete!"

The two robots came running over, as always. "What now, boss?" Delete asked.

"I want you to stand guard on the Grim Wreaker while I find a good place to start this up," Hacker ordered, pointing at the machine. "If anyone—anyone at all—interferes with this plan, YOU'LL be the ones to blame. Do I make myself clear!"

"Crystal clear, boss," Buzz replied, nodding his head.

"Good. Now, stay here! I've got a cybersite to conquer!"

He then turned his back to them and walked off. As soon as he had disappeared from view, Jackie, Matt, Inez, and Digit glanced over towards the direction in which he had walked from. They then turned their gaze on Buzz and Delete. The two didn't seem to be doing much; Delete was sitting with his back against a tree, looking relaxed, while Buzz was pacing around. 

Matt turned his gaze back to where Hacker had walked off. "I say we follow him," he told the rest of them. "Then maybe we can snatch the device."

"It's a bit risky," Jackie said, shaking her head. "If that thing can destroy a statue, it can destroy us hands down."

"Still, we've got to try."

"But what about Buzz and Delete?" Digit asked him. "Won't they notice us when we slip out of here?"

"Does it look like they're noticing anything now? Come on, we have to follow him!"

The rest of the Cybersquad looked reluctant, but they knew that Matt was right. Inez sighed, then got down on her hands and knees and crawled out of the bushes. Jackie followed her, then Matt, then Digit. As soon as they were out of the bush (which was indeed very large) they pulled themselves up and started running in the same direction that Hacker had walked off in. 

They caught up to him pretty quickly, after some difficulty with leaping over large rocks, roots, and such. As soon as they reached the spot that Hacker had stopped at, the Cybersquad got down at once as Hacker set the machine down, then looked around.

"Let's see…" They heard him mutter to himself, "where to start? I could go out to the playground, but it could be a bit dangerous—for me, anyway—until I start it up. The island's no good…The house won't do at all…Neither will the pond…" He thought for a few more moments, then said, "I suppose I'll just start here!"

He then laughed evilly. Inez gasped, then said, "We have to stop him!"

"But how do we get the device away from him?" Matt asked her.

"It was your idea, you think up something!" Digit said. 

"I just said to follow him. I didn't say I was going to figure out how to get the device away from him!"

"Okay, okay," Inez said. "Listen, we need to make this quick. Hacker could start it up any second!"

"I'll get it," Digit offered.

"Good," Inez said. "Just sneak over and grab it."

"You want me—" he gulped—"To go near the Hacker?"

"I believe that's what she said," Jackie told him.

"You're not chicken, are you?" Matt dared him, nudging him in the side. 

"O-of course not!" Digit stammered. "I just don't want to—" He stopped and stared at the three kids, then sighed and said, "okay, okay, I'll go. Just warn me if he spots me, got it?"

Inez nodded. Digit swallowed, then said, "okay, here goes."

He flopped down on his stomach, then slowly started making his way across the ground—exactly like a soldier on enemy grounds—towards the device. He came closer and closer, trying to remain hidden in the tall grass…

In a few moments he was within range of the machine, and slowly reached out towards it. He had grabbed it and was just about to pull it back towards him when Inez whispered loudly, "_DIGIT_!"

"What?" Digit asked, but he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. A large shadow fell over him, and he looked up, still on his stomach, to see the Hacker, standing in front of him and not looking very pleased. He growled at the bird.

"I believe that this belongs to me," he said, grabbing the device away from Digit with such force that the bird fell backward. Hacker then took a few steps closer to him and said, "You really thought that you could get away with that, didn't you?"

Digit gulped; he was too frightened to say anything. He rolled over onto his back and slowly took a few steps backward. Hacker took a few steps towards him, so Digit stepped backward again. This continued until they were right near the bush where the kids were. 

Jackie slowly backed up a bit. "What if he finds us too?" she whispered.

"He won't as long as we're quiet," Inez whispered back. "But we still need to get the device away. You heard Dr. Marbles!"

Matt, overhearing the girls' conversation, slowly turned his gaze towards the outside of the bushes. The device that Hacker had snatched from Digit was still in his hand, and it was about a yard or so away from Matt. He finally decided upon doing something to get it away and have enough time to grab it, but he only had one chance. He would have to make it quick.

Getting up, he slowly walked over to where the Hacker was and slowly started to extend his hand from the bushes. He had to start slowly at first, but as soon as he was within reach, he knocked the device out of Hacker's hand with one quick blow. Digit caught the device before it could smash itself on the ground, then looked around in confusion.

"Give it to me, you two-toned Cyberturkey!" Hacker snapped at him. Digit, seeing Matt, Jackie and Inez running out of the bushes, turned around and bolted as well. "You won't escape that easily!" Hacker yelled after them, then started to chase them.

Matt turned around. "I don't see him," he said. "Do you think we lost him?"

"We'd better keep running, just to be sure," Inez told him. "You never know when—YAH!"

She shouted in surprise as Buzz leapt out of the bushes at her in midair. She bolted out of the way, narrowly missing him. Delete looked and followed suite, but his particular target was Jackie. She screamed, then jumped out of the way. Delete missed her and landed on his back on the ground. 

While the two were still stunned, the kids and Digit continued running. Hacker arrived shortly after, just as Buzz and Delete were starting to get up. Delete, looking dazed, said, "Hi, boss, how'd it go with the—"

"Never mind that!" he snapped at them. "Just get into the Wreaker at once!"

"But can't we just go on foot?" Delete asked, regaining memory. 

"No!" Hacker shouted at him. Delete cowered in fear as Hacker continued, "I want the advantage, and it's the advantage I get! Go!"

So that's why the kids were being chased at the moment. Matt finished piecing it together, then said to the girls and Digit, "I think there's only one option right now."

"Which is…?" Jackie asked.

Matt reached into his backpack and took out a Squawk Pad. "We need to call Motherboard to send us a portal. Maybe then we can—GAH!"

He yelped in surprise as a large portal suddenly opened up in front of them. It looked like the usual portal they took, only it seemed much larger and seemed to be embossed into the scenery around them. The kids stopped immediately, staring at the large portal in front of them.

"Heh, looks like Motherboard knew about it," Digit said.

"This doesn't look like a normal portal, guys," Inez said. "It's much too big. It looks more like a wormhole."

"You mean one of those holes that, if you enter it, it takes you to a whole different time or place?" Matt asked. "Yeah, I've heard of those."

"Well, should we go in or not?" Jackie said, starting to get impatient. "Hacker is gaining on us, if you didn't notice before!"

Matt and Inez turned around and looked at the large ship above them, then turned to look back at the portal. Inez rubbed her chin and said, "I still don't know…"

"Let's just get in!" Digit shouted. Before anyone could react, he jumped into the portal. Jackie looked at Matt and Inez, then turned to look at the portal.

"Digit, wait!" she shouted, then jumped in after him. Matt and Inez looked at each other, then shrugged and leapt into the portal as well. It closed just as Hacker entered their area.

"What in cyberspace!" he remarked. "Where'd they go to?"

"'Dey probably entered a portal, boss," Buzz stated. 

"You don't need to tell me that!" he shouted at Buzz. Buzz remained silent, then slowly backed up and stood next to Delete. Hacker searched the area, but the kids were gone.

"This is sickening," he said angrily. "They may have the device, but I will prevail! The Hacker has not been defeated yet!"

The Grim Wreaker then lifted itself up and disappeared into the treetops…

Meanwhile, inside the portal, the kids were doing what they always did normally when they completed a mission—sailing around in the tunnel of light. "Well, that didn't go so bad," Matt said, laying back.

"Yeah," Inez agreed. "And we still have the device, so it should be safe until—"

Digit looked around, then said, "hey guys, do you think it's getting a bit—well, lighter in here?"

Matt glanced around like Digit had done, then shrugged and said, "no. Why?"

"Well, it just seems like—"

Jackie suddenly felt a sharp pang in her arm. She looked down, only to see that it was starting to turn a pale purple-ish color. She yelped, then said to the others, "Guys, are you turning color?"

Matt and Inez looked at themselves. They couldn't see anything wrong with their arms, then Matt gasped and said, "Inez, your head…"

"What?" Inez asked.

"It's turning the same color as Jackie's arm."

"So's your leg!"

Matt looked down at his leg, which was indeed changing color. He yelped in surprise, then the tunnel grew brighter, and they seemed to speed up just a bit. The kids started to warp too. Digit looked around, then gulped and said, trying to remain calm but scared half to death, "Guys…"

"What?" Matt asked.

"This isn't our portal."

None of the kids could make a response, for they were starting to speed up even faster. The tunnel grew brighter, and the kids had to shield their eyes as so not to be blinded. They started speeding up—going faster by the second, faster…

Then a large series of flashes happened, and finally they heard the sound of something opening. They felt themselves go through something thick, then they were falling…falling…


	2. Newcomers in an alternate universe

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ALTERNATE MACHINOS

CHAPTER II: Newcomers in an alternate universe

The kids felt themselves hit the ground. Their eyes popped open as they rolled across some dusty rocks, then landed front-first in the dust and dirt. Jackie groaned, then slowly turned her head towards her arm. It had returned to its normal color and was no longer warped. As the pain from landing hard left her, she slowly turned over on her side, and saw that they had fallen into a large pit of some sort. She could see the walls.

Inez sighed and said, steadying herself as she pulled herself up, "I wonder where that portal took us?"

"Ah, my arm," Matt said, getting up and rubbing the sore area near his shoulder. He looked around. "Well, I know we're not at Control Central, that's for one thing."

"Aw, man!" Jackie said, looking down at her shirt for the first time since they had landed. "I got dust on my clothes _again_!"

Digit got up last. The device was no longer in his wings, his cap was off, and his beak was scrunched up. He tugged on it until it came back into place, then got down on his knees and started searching the ground for his hat. Matt looked at him, then said, "Do you have any idea where we are, Digit?"

"No," Digit said, pausing to look up at Matt. "As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever been here before."

"Oh, great!" Jackie said. "Now how are we supposed to get out of here!"

"Well…I have an idea," Inez said. "Matt, do you have your Squawk Pad with you still?"

"Yeah," Matt said. "I stuck it in my backpack before I made the mistake of entering that portal."

"Good. Hand it to me."

Matt took the Squawk Pad out of his backpack and handed it to Inez. She took it, then pressed a few buttons and said into it, "Motherboard. Can you hear me? We're stuck in a weird place and—"

There was no response, only a lot of static. Inez sighed, then shut it off and handed it back to Matt. "I can't reach her," she told him. "There's something wrong with the reception, I think."

"Well, we'd better get out of this pit before we do anything else," Matt said, looking around him. He walked towards the wall of the pit and started climbing up it. Halfway he turned around and called, "C'mon, Jacks! C'mon, Nezzie!"

"We're coming, and DON'T CALL ME NEZZIE!" Inez snapped. 

"Sorry, Ne—I mean, Inez," Matt said, stopping himself before he could say it again.

The two girls came over and started up the side of the pit along with Matt. Digit flew up after them, then landed on the edge of the pit as the kids grasped the edge with their hands, then lifted themselves up. They stopped for a moment, to catch their breath.

Jackie was the first one to look over at the horizon. As soon as she got a good glimpse, she gasped and put her hands to her mouth. "Oh, my—" she said, her eyes wide. Matt and Inez looked at her, then looked out at the landscape as well. They too, gasped with fright and astonishment.

"Oh, wow!"

"Oh, heaven…"

The landscape looked like it hadn't been lived on for at least 500 years. It was old, dusty, and dark, and—besides the kids—completely uninhabited. The sky was a hazy pink color, with blood red clouds to match, and the mountains near it were brown, dark purple, and black. 

But that wasn't what caused them to gasp. It was what was scattered all over the landscape that did the trick for that. For ruins of buildings, statues, and temples were scattered across the ground; the dust was starting to settle on them as well. The wind blew the worn fabric flaps of a crushed Old World stand; and dried blood and bones were everywhere. It was a horrifying sight.

"What—what happened?" Jackie said, trying to steady herself.

"I don't know," Inez said, getting up, "but if we want to know who did this and how it happened, we need to go down there."

"I'm not going down there!" Digit said, shaking with fright. "No way!"

"You have to, Didge," Matt told him. "You can't stay here alone."

"I'm not alone!" Digit objected. "There's still the—" he started to trail off as he looked around, then sighed and said, "Okay."

"Great. Now come on."

The kids slid down the edge of the hill that they were standing on, then got up and walked into the ruined cybersite. They walked down the path slowly, looking at what great damage was done here. Finally Jackie managed to say, "what cybersite was this anyway?"

"It looks like—" Matt glanced around for a second, as he had not completely found his answer yet, then after a while gulped and said, "Mt. Olympus."

"Mt. Olympus!" Inez repeated, both shocked and horrified at the same time. "B-but we were only gone for a few seconds! How could Hacker have—"

"I don't think it was Hacker," Digit said, staring at the wall of a large, fallen temple, "unless Hacker's name begins with an 'M'."

"What do you mean by that, Didge?" Matt asked.

"Come over here," Digit ordered him.

Matt looked at him for a moment, then walked over to where Digit was. As soon as he was next to him, Digit pointed at the wall and said, "look!"

Matt looked up, then nearly jumped backward. A large "M"—at least ten feet in height—was engraved onto the side of the temple. It wasn't there before either; Matt could tell that it was done with a sword and not a carving tool. 

He ran his fingers over it, then shuddered. What kind of villain would destroy an entire cybersite without them or Motherboard knowing, let alone have his or her name start with an "M"? Hacker was the only villain around cyberspace who even _dared _attack a cybersite, but if it wasn't Hacker, then who—?

"Matt!" Inez called. 

Matt snapped back into reality. He turned his gaze away from the giant "M" and looked towards where Inez was standing. She motioned him towards her, and he tilted his head in confusion, then walked over towards that spot.

"What?" he asked as she picked something up from the ground.

"Look at this," she said, in a horrified tone. "I just found it under part of a statue."

She then held up the charred remains of a hand. Matt drew back as she thrust it upward, then shook it off and looked at the severed piece. Through the burnt flakes that stuck to it Matt could make out slight hints of a bright yellow-gold color. He stepped a bit closer to it, but then Inez drew it back and said, in the same shaky tone, "I-it's Delete's."

"No way!" Matt said. 

"Way," Inez said. "People's hands aren't this color. Also, it looks like it came from a robot; it's made of steel."

"But how can you be sure it's Delete's?"

"I don't know…" Inez trailed off, then she looked up towards the blood red clouds in the sky. Matt looked at her, then shook his head to get himself out of the same trance. He was starting to turn around when Jackie called, "Matt!"

"Not again," Matt muttered as he walked over to where Jackie was standing. "What is it?"

"Look at this, Matt," Jackie said. She got down on her knees in a pile of charred wood, then felt around. "I knew it was here somewhere…ah!" She then reached her hand down into the wood and pulled out what looked like part of a sword. She handed it to him, then said, "Kind of cool, huh?"

"Cool," Matt agreed, feeling the edges of the blade, "but kind of weird. I didn't know Mt. Olympus had swords."

"Neither did I…" Jackie stared at the sword, then said suddenly, "wait a second!"

"What?" Matt asked.

Jackie took the blade from him and felt it over. She finally came across what she was looking for and held it up for him to see. "Look!"

Matt looked at the blade. At first he couldn't see what it was that Jackie wanted him to, but after a while he could see some small writing on the edge of the blade. He drew closer to it, then saw, written in perfect handwriting:

_Eteled Tekcubecnud._

"Eteled Tekcubecnud," he muttered out loud. Jackie looked at him weirdly. "It's what it says on the sword blade," he informed her.

"What does it mean?" Jackie asked. "It sounds like someone's name."

"It probably is," Matt said, nodding. 

"There's something familiar about that name…" Jackie looked down at the ground as she pondered, "but I can't think just what…"

"It sounds familiar to me, too," Matt agreed. "But I've never heard it before in my life! What makes it so familiar?"

Inez and Digit came running over. "What did you find?" she asked, looking at the sword blade.

"Part of a sword," Jackie said. "I found it buried in the wood over there." She pointed at the pile of charcoal that she was digging through earlier. 

"Keep that one piece," Inez told them. "It might give us a clue to what happened here later."

"The cybersite was destroyed, and by the looks of it everyone died. What's there more to tell?" Digit asked. He then shuddered at what he just said. 

"We know it was destroyed, but we don't know who destroyed it," Jackie pointed out. "That's an important part of figuring things out."

"I knew that; I was just testing you!"

"Right."

"While you guys are standing here analyzing, I'm going to go find someone who can help us," Matt told the girls and Digit. "We look like we're in the middle of nowhere."

"But how are you going to find someone in a place like this?" Digit asked. "There isn't another cybersite here for miles!"

"We're near a cybersite. There has to be someone here."

"Everyone's dead, Matt!" Inez said. "Or didn't you notice?"

"There have to be some survivors; there's always some survivors!" Matt objected. He turned around and started to walk down the path of destruction, out of the cybersite. The girls looked at each other, sighed, then got up and followed. 

"Hey, wait for me!" called Digit, flying after them.

The kids walked across the dusty landscape for what seemed like hours. Finally Inez stopped, the wind starting to blow her hair, and said to Matt, "Matt, this is ridiculous! We've been walking forever!"

"There has to be someone here," Matt said stubbornly. "I just know it."

He then looked up towards the mountains. He was about to look back down when his gaze fell upon something at the top of the hill, about a mile away from them. The object—or possibly objects, as it seemed like there were more than one—up there, whatever it was, was standing completely still. At first Matt thought it was just a mirage, but he noticed that one of the objects was moving. 

"Guys!" he said to Jackie, Inez, and Digit. "There's someone or something up there! It might help us!" He cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted to the figures, "Hey! We're down here! We need help!"

"Matt! Stop it!" Jackie said, staring up at the figures. There was something about them…something she didn't trust…and she didn't want to take any chances. 

Matt ignored her and continued to shout, waving his hands, "Hey! Down here!"

The figures at the top of the hill seemed to shift, then the front one reared up and started to charge down the hill. There were two others with it; they followed suite after the first one. The kids waited, then Digit said, sounding nervous, "Guys, I don't like this."

"Why?" Matt said. "They're just—"

He was cut short by a large, iron gray horse jumping out of the sky and landing on the ground in front of them. The kids jumped, then, as soon as they had come to their senses, slowly looked up at it.

The horse was a tall, slim type, its face bearing a similar resemblance to the ones that they rode so often in Sensible Flats, but it was taller—much taller, and looked very much like an earth horse, only it was made entirely out of metal—very dark metal—and its eyes were a blazing emerald. Atom bands were looped around each of its legs.

Their gaze traveled up to meet the rider. They gasped, in a short state of shock, for the rider's head looked exactly like that of Delete's. As a matter of fact, the entire rider looked like Delete, only it was entirely jet-black, like a shadow; except for its eyes, which were entirely white. They didn't even have pupils. You couldn't even tell which way that they were looking…they seemed cold and lifeless, like the eyes of a corpse.

The second and third riders—on their horses, identical to the first one—landed behind the first rider. They looked exactly alike; it was impossible to tell them apart. 

The kids backed up against each other, as the riders on their horses arranged themselves to make a ring around them. The riders looked directly at them, their lifeless eyes narrowed in a death-like glare. Their horses whinnied and snorted every now and then, but other then that the landscape was completely silent.

After a while Inez gulped and said nervously, waving, "Uh, hello. We're from the real world; Motherboard sent us here…I think."

The riders looked at one another, then turned their heads back towards the 9-year-old girl. Inez continued, starting to sweat, "um…we're sort of lost. Someone destroyed this cybersite, and we need to report back to Motherboard immediately. Could you…give us a ride?" 

The three riders looked at one another again, confused, then their eyes narrowed. They turned their gaze back to the three kids and the robotic bird as they reached near their sides. Jackie glanced over at one of the riders and saw it pulling out a sharp, gleaming sword. She gasped, then said, "Guys…"

"We know," Inez said, staring at the swords. "And it's not good. Not good at all."

The first rider had raised his sword and was about to slash at her when all of a sudden a speeding object came shooting through the sky and knocked the sword out of the rider's hand. The sword clattered to the ground, and when the kids looked down they saw that it was an arrow, hand-made by the looks of it and now stuck deep into the dust. They looked up in the direction that it came from, but they couldn't see anything.

The rider was still looking around when a blurred figure shot by from above and kicked him in the back, knocking him off his horse. He fell to the ground beside the sword, and the kids saw the figure as it hit the ground after him, then gracefully rolled across and got up. 

Jackie was the only one to gasp at this time. The figure, now seen in full view, looked exactly like her, except that this other girl's hair was down to her shoulders, and was wild and matted. She had an eyepatch over her left eye, and a leather band tied around her head. She was wearing a skirt and top, very ragged and made from what looked like animal skins, but Jackie wasn't sure of that yet. 

The girl growled and leapt at the rider again, tackling him to the ground. The rider reached for his sword, but before he could get a good grip on it the girl had given him a blow upside the head, causing him to flinch, and snapping his head backwards. The girl then grabbed the sword and threw it. It flipped through the air and landed point first into the dirt about five yards away from them. 

"Not so tough now without your sword, are ya?" the girl snarled at the rider, turning her head back towards him. 

Jackie blinked. Not only did the girl almost look like her, the girl also sounded exactly like her as well. In voice, not by speech, anyway. She watched as the girl gave him another blow to the head, then grabbed the reins of his horse and tied them around his body. She then threw him up onto the horse and was about to slap it on the backside when another voice called out, "No, Jacqueline! That's not how you do it!"

The voice sounded like Matt's. The kids turned around in time to see another figure standing near them. He looked exactly like Matt, except that his skin was slightly more tanned and his hair was messier. He wore the same clothes as Jacqueline, or so the girl's name was, except that he wore tattered pants, not a skirt, and around his neck was a thick string with sharp, glinting teeth tied to it. 

He ran right past them and leapt up in the air, then did a perfect flying sidekick, hitting the second rider and knocking him off of his horse as well. The rider fell to the ground headfirst, then the Matt look-alike landed on the ground next to him, gave him a few whacks to the body, then picked up the reins and tied the rider to his horse neatly. He then turned to Jacqueline and said, "see? _That's _how you tie them up! Do it right next time!"

"Why don't you just stick to your orders and I'll stick to mine!" Jacqueline snapped back at him. She yanked on the horse's reins impatiently, then said, crossing her arms, "and where's Zeny?"

"She's coming," the Matt look-alike replied. "And don't yank on the reins! You'll spook the horse!"

"Pfft! Yeah right," Jacqueline said under her breath.

Inez couldn't help but stare at the two look-alikes. It was odd…she never remembered seeing them around Mt. Olympus before. Or had she and didn't know it? There were so many citizens at Mt. Olympus…at least, there _used to _be…

Suddenly an ear piercing "Hee-YAH!" shattered the silence in the air. She whipped around just in time to see a small, tan-colored girl leap out of the air and kick the third rider off of his horse. The girl then landed on the ground, flipped, then rebounded back and kicked the rider in the back, causing him to land on his horse. She then picked up the reins and tied the rider down, then turned to the Matt look-alike and said eagerly, "How was that, Matthew?"

"Great," the Matt look-alike (Matthew) replied. He tapped on the reins, then gave her the thumbs up and said, "Great work, Nezzie!"

Inez was shocked. Matthew—or so he was called—had used on the girl the same nickname that she so detested! She shook her head, then glanced at the girl. 

The girl indeed looked like her, only her hair was messier, she wore the same clothes that Jacqueline wore, and her glasses were perched on top of her head, making her look like a wind rider. 

Matthew then told the two girls, "okay, you may do the honors."

Zeny and Jacqueline grinned, then smacked the three horses' rears. The horses whinnied, reared up, then charged off with the three riders still tied to them. Matthew smiled, then called after the riders, "AND DON'T COME BACK!"

He then dusted off his hands and had started to turn back when he finally got a good look at whom they had saved. He blinked, then looked down at himself, then to Jacqueline, then to Zeny, then at Digit, then at Matt. Finally he pointed at the kids and said, "Alright, who are you? And what are you doing with Codebird?"

"I don't believe it," Jacqueline said, astounded. "They look almost exactly like us!"

"And they saved Codebird! And groomed him over too!" Zeny squealed.

"Codebird?" Digit asked, looking confused. "Is that me?"

The three kids looked at each other, then Matt said, kind of going off subject for the matters of it, "Um, we entered here through a portal and we're kind of lost. Can you give us the directions to Control Central? We need to—"

He stopped in shock when he realized that the three look-alikes were laughing at him. "What's so funny?" he asked angrily, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm serious, guys!"

Matthew stopped laughing and said, "there hasn't been a portal around here for eons. You might as well quit looking for one while you're ahead."

"And Control Central was destroyed a _long_ time ago," Jacqueline added.

"What do you mean?" Jackie asked, afraid.

"Well, you see," Matthew said, running his hand through his messy red hair, "Control Central used to be run a long time ago by a brilliant supercomputer entitled 'Fatherboard'. He kept the cybersites at peace and in perfect harmony—at least until the dawn of the cyberspace Dark Age began."

"Dark Age?" Inez repeated. "You mean like the time of the Vikings?"

Matthew nodded. "Yes, only it was much more violent and much more intense. You see, after a while a horrible criminal and his army unexpectedly attacked Fatherboard. He could do nothing to stop them, and his entire army was slaughtered by the raging Dark Riders."

"The who?" Jackie asked, cocking her eyebrow.

"The what?" Matt added, just as confused.

Matthew sighed, then put his hand to his head and slowly shook it. "You guys have never been here in your lives, have you?"

"Everyone knows about the fall of the Fatherboard army!" Zeny added. "Why don't you?"

Matt started to explain, but then trailed off and said, as if in a trance, "I…don't know…"

Inez and Jackie looked at each other, then stopped as Jacqueline stepped forward towards them. Her gaze was focused on Digit, who had his wings wrapped around Jackie's leg, trying to hide himself. She bent down, then looked up at the kids and said, "don't be alarmed. We're just taking Codebird with us."

"Codebird? You mean Digit?" Matt asked.

"Digit? That's a funny name for our mascot," Jacqueline said. She slowly reached out towards Digit, who tried to back up, but the wild-looking girl wouldn't take this for an answer. She thrust out and grabbed the bird tightly by the wing, then tugged him off of Jackie's leg. She then started feeling around his side, near his tail, as if looking for something.

Finally, she set the bird down and, getting up and turning towards Matthew and Zeny, said, "this isn't Codebird. It doesn't have the 'M' mark on its side."

"_WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT_!" Inez shouted, not able to bear the confusion any longer. She calmed down after a while, then, noticing that everyone was looking at her, said, "sorry. I got a little carried away. Okay, I just want to ask you three…who are you and how did you get here?"

"We already know your names," Matt told them, "so you don't need to tell us that piece of it."

"Okay, let's see…where to begin…you see, we're a group of kids sent from the real world to protect cyberspace," Matthew informed them. "It used to be fun, but after the defeat of the Fatherboard army we could never return to the real world again. We were trapped forever in cyberspace…"

"Hey, that's just like what happens with us!" Jackie said, starting to trust the three. "Only we weren't stuck in cyberspace forever and—well—the person—or, as I should say, supercomputer _we _protect hasn't been defeated." She turned her gaze to the side as she thought, a surge of fear rushing through her, _at least not yet…if we can't contact Motherboard in time who knows what Hacker will do._

"Very queer," Matthew said, his chin in his hand, as if in deep thought. "Fatherboard was defeated eons ago, so he can't _possibly _still be up and running now. It's almost like you came from a different time…" He stopped, then said, starting to come on to something, "or a different place…"

"That's it!" Inez said, finally piecing it all together. "When we entered that portal, it must've warped us to a whole new world!"

"How do you know it's a place and not a time?" Matt asked her.

"Because if it was a different time, Motherboard would still be called 'Motherboard' and not 'Fatherboard', like earlier. Names never change unless someone makes them, and Motherboard would certainly not give herself a male name."

Jacqueline raised an eyebrow, smirking. "The girl's a good listener."

"You know it!" Digit agreed, nodding.

"So if we're in another world…it usually means we're in an alternate dimension," Jackie added to Inez's theory. She looked at the three rough looking kids standing in front of them. "So…you three must be our alternates!"

Zeny blinked. "Alternates? No way!"

"Way," Matthew said. "Remember the Portal of Forty?"

Zeny then turned her gaze up towards the sky, muttering under her breath, "oh, yeah."

"Alternates?" Jackie said. She glanced at Jacqueline, then said, shaking her hand in disgust, "NO alternate of mine would be caught wearing something like that."

Jacqueline, looking offended, narrowed her eyes and said, putting her hands on her hips, "is there a problem with my clothing, prissy?"

"What did you just call me!" Jackie said, shocked and a bit angry.

"You heard me."

Jackie made an angered noise, then clenched her hand into a fist. Jacqueline did the same, but Zeny said, "no, Jacqueline! You can't fight your own alternate!"

"Just try and stop me!" Jacqueline growled back at her.

"No, Jacqueline!" Matthew said sternly. "Don't hurt her. You probably wouldn't do it right anyway."

"I'm not that bossy!" Matt said.

"Why'd you call my alternate the nickname I dislike to no extent?" Inez asked.

They then started arguing. Digit watched as they quarreled amongst each other, then finally sighed and declared that they had been standing here much too long. There might be other riders like the ones they encountered heading this way as they spoke.

"Stop it, guys! Can't we all just get along?" Digit shouted. Everyone stopped snapping at each other and turned to look at him. He stared back, feeling helpless, but continued, "shouldn't we be heading somewhere else now, I mean?"

"Good idea," Inez said, nodding.

"We can't walk," Matthew told the three kids. "There isn't another cybersite around here for at least ten miles. But I have another solution." 

He then put his fingers to his mouth and whistled. The kids waited for a while, wondering what that was about, but their question was answered when a large horse came running across the horizon and stopped in front of them. It looked like the horses that the riders had been on earlier, but it was a lighter silver and its eyes were a light red. It whinnied, then stomped its hoof.

"This is Skyrider," Matthew informed the kids, mounting the large horse. "She'll take us to a nearby town formed by the survivors. But you're going to have to stay quiet; the Portal of Forty is considered to be a fantasy."

"Yeah, what's with this 'Portal of Forty'?" Jackie asked, mounting the horse after Jacqueline and Zeny had got on. Digit up after her, followed Matt and Inez.

"Well, let's just head out towards that area," Matthew said. He snapped the horses' reins, and she started trotting west. "I'll explain everything along the way."


	3. The arrival

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

CHAPTER III: The arrival

The brilliantly burning sun was beginning to set behind the dark purple mountains as the kids and their alternates, on Skyrider, continued to trot along the dusty ground. Skyrider flicked her tail every now and then and shook her head as Jackie asked Matthew, who was sitting in front of her, "so, what _exactly_ is the Portal of Forty?"

Matthew turned to look at her. "The Portal of Forty is claimed to be a large, swirling portal that opens up in any dimension or universe, anytime, anywhere. It occurs over and over, and usually it produces disastrous results. Such as you getting sucked through it and into here, for example."

"Well, we know that," Inez said. 

Matthew smiled, then said, "the Portal of Forty here, however, is considered to be a myth, because no one has ever seen it and come back alive to tell the tale."

"What do you mean?" Matt asked, looking worried.

"It only happens once every forty years," Matthew told him, looking dead serious. 

"Forty YEARS!"

"Yes. That's why they call it the Portal of Forty. It strikes randomly, but it only occurs in a certain area once, for forty years until it strikes that same area again. Its patterns have never changed."

"What! This is terrible!" Jackie exclaimed. "How—how are we going to get back if the portal only opens in this area once every forty years!"

"I'll try and decipher a way for you to get back," Matthew told them calmly. "Until then, you're going to have to remain around here."

"Well, in the meantime, we could try to find Hacker," Digit said. "Do you have any idea where the bad guys are?"

Matthew made a sound that sounded like a stifled laugh, then said, shaking his head, "nope. There are no 'bad guys' here."

"Criminals? Murderers?" Inez guessed, trying to think up some reason for the evil riders to try and attack them like that earlier.

"Nope," Jacqueline said. "There haven't been any criminals, nor murderers, since the attack on Solaria. They were all beat out; now there's one and only one left."

"Why aren't there any around except one?" Matt asked, a bit confused. He was new to this whole "Alternate Universe" idea. "I mean, no universe can exist without people and things going bad every once in a while! It would be too blissy!"

"Trust me, there's nothing 'blissy' about this place," Zeny said, sounding firm and serious. "We live in complete and total fear of this villain. No one has dared to even try to match the wits, power, or skill of the great Machinos."

"Machinos?" all three kids said together at the same time.

Zeny nodded. "He's the most horrible villain of all cyberspace history. Just saying his name makes you want to run for cover."

"He destroyed over fifty cybersites in the past two-three years that we've been here," Jacqueline continued. "He's cruel, strict, and merciless. He kills anyone who doesn't obey his commands. As a matter of fact—" she glanced at the kids—"it was he who destroyed Fatherboard in the first place."

"How did he do that?" Jackie asked, her eyes wide. This "Machinos" sounded incredibly evil to her cause. The other three—Matt, Inez, and Digit—thought so as well. I mean, how could he _not _be?

"Well, it all started when we first arrived," Matthew explained to them. "Everything seemed to be going fine for the most part, and we were just about to head back home after a day of fighting evil in cyberspace. However, right after we left Machinos arrived with his army and ambushed Fatherboard.

"Fatherboard had an army as well, but Machinos had been selective this time. He had chosen the strongest and swiftest of his warriors for the ambush. It was like he had planned it for months or something. Fatherboard tried to hold him off long enough for his file wall to upload, but Machinos's army overpowered his. Everyone in the Fatherboard army was brutally slaughtered. No one was saved."

He stopped and put his eyes back on the road, not wanting to say any more about the bloody assault. Jacqueline continued the story from where he had left off. "After the slaughter of the Fatherboard army, Machinos took matters into his own hands. He told his General to lead the army back towards his fortress while he did the final step.

"The General obeyed, and as he was heading back Machinos stormed into Control Central and entered Fatherboard's main control room. He had saved his sword from the fight and had had it drawn out, walking towards Fatherboard in an orderly manner. Fatherboard's file wall was almost up, but alas, it was too late for him. Machinos, using the sword, destroyed his system, shutting him down for eternity. As a result, every portal in cyberspace was disabled, including the one that led back to earth."

"What happened to you then?" Digit asked.

"Well, we had entered the portal, like Matthew said earlier, only we weren't exactly out of cyberspace entirely yet. Halfway the portal was cut off, and we were shot back out. We landed on the bloody battlefield where Machinos had fought the Fatherboard army, and after seeing Machinos ride off, clutching the sparking sword, we knew dismally what had happened to Fatherboard himself."

"That's terrible." Digit gulped, his throat starting to become dry.

"We thought the exact same thing," Jacqueline agreed. "Fatherboard was a close friend of ours. We wanted revenge on Machinos, something that would make him sorry for ever even _thinking _of killing Fatherboard."

"We got our wish when Machinos attacked a town made by the survivors of Happily-Ever-After-Ville," Zeny put in. "We didn't want anyone else to die, so we set out with the best weaponry we had. With our thoughts set on the death of Fatherboard, we attacked Machinos's army single-handedly, destroying half of his riders. Machinos wanted to stand and fight, but the General insisted that they retreat before any more harm came to him or his army."

"Did they retreat?" Digit asked.

"Yes, and very quickly, I might add," Matthew finally spoke, the smile returning once more to his face. He then sighed and said, "but I don't think that Machinos was ever sorry, for right when we had our backs turned during the retreat he grabbed Codebird and possibly killed or enslaved him. We've never seen him since." Zeny and Jacqueline sadly nodded in agreement at this.

"Geez, it sounds like your universe is falling apart!" Matt told them. 

"Yes," Jacqueline agreed. "Evil is starting to dominate once more."

"But you can't let that happen!" Jackie exclaimed. "You've got to stop Machinos from destroying so many cybersites!"

Matthew sighed. "We'd try if we could, but we can't. By the time we hear of the news it's too late for us to do anything about it. We used to know beforehand, but after Fatherboard's death he could never contact us again."

He then turned his gaze up and smiled once again. "Here's the place!" he said to the kids and Digit. 

The kids leaned to the side to get a good look at the town that they were entering. It was a small town, but a bustling place nonetheless. Neat, 1800's-style houses were lined up in rows along a dirt path, where people that the kids didn't recognize for the most of it roamed. They turned up their heads when they saw the large silver horse entering through the iron gates.

As Matthew halted Skyrider, an elderly man—bald on top of the head, and wearing a blue robe (he looked a lot like the Mt. Olympus philosopher Homer)—ran up to them. He bowed politely as Matthew, Jacqueline, and Zeny stepped down. "Welcome back, my saviors," he told them. "We are glad that you've arrived."

"Same for us," Matthew told him, bowing back. Jacqueline and Zeny lowered their heads, as if following Matthew's every motion lightly, then raised them up as Digit, Jackie, Matt, and Inez slipped down off of Skyrider.

The old man noticed them at once. "Well, I'll be darned," he said, astonished. "Your passengers look exactly like you!"

"Yes, they're our—" Matthew coughed, his hand behind his back in an orderly manner, trying to think up a good excuse, "long-lost twins from across cyberspace. They've come to join us in our travels."

"Well, pleased to meet you!" the old man said, bowing to the three kids and Digit as well. He got up, then waved his hand, as if he wanted them to follow him. "Right this way, if you please."

The seven followed the old man through the long road of the town, until he came to an old, rickety building. It looked like an old-fashioned tavern and was starting to crumble with age. The old man looked around cautiously, as if watching for something, then slowly pushed open the door. He then waved for the kids to come inside.

The kids slowly stepped inside, and the old man closed the door. He then walked into the main room, which indeed _looked _like an 1800's tavern as well. But since this area was formed by a Greek organization, it was slightly more Greek style, with stone pillars serving as support beams and strings of brightly colored flowers hung everywhere. Several citizens—looking worn and beaten down—were sitting on pillows near the edge, drinking out of silver glasses. 

"This is our small resting place," the old man told the kids and Digit. "It's where we come after we've been working hard endless hours. Ever since Machinos destroyed Mt. Olympus so many years ago, we've resided here, living off the land and relying on travelers for our resources."

"We've retrieved items from destroyed cybersites for almost two years now!" Matthew said proudly.

Matt stood there thinking about this. _So that's what the giant "M" in the side of the temple meant…_

He stopped and shook his head as he remembered the sword blade. Looking up at the old man, he asked, calmly, "Um…do you know what this 'Machinos' character's real name is, sir?" 

The old man's eyes seemed to grow wider as he stared at him, then he cleared his throat and said, "well, the attack was so unexpected that many of us had to flee during the battle. But I did hear the General shout something to him over the commotion, and by the sound of it he was addressing him by his name."

"What was it?" Jackie asked.

The old man thought, then finally said, slowly and in a bit of a shaky tone, "Eteled Tekcubecnud."

Matt gasped. "That was the same name we found on the sword blade!" he exclaimed. 

The old man looked both confused and shocked. "You got a good glimpse of Machinos's sword?"

"Um, no," Inez said, shuffling her foot across the floor as she spoke. "We were sort of…looking around the remains of where your cybersite used to be and we found part of a sword there."

"Ah, explorers," the old man said, smiling and nodding. "They're always the curious type, ain't they?"

"I guess so," Inez replied, shrugging her shoulders.

At that moment a citizen that the kids had never seen before came bursting through the door. She was muttering frightened things under her breath that the kids couldn't hear, and as she stopped in front of the old man she fell on her knees and said, looking up at him, a great amount of fear in her eyes, "he's here."

The old man's eyes widened again, then he turned to the kids and said, "quick, get to the backroom!"

"But why—?" Jackie started to say.

"Just get into the backroom, NOW!" the old man shouted, and nudged her in the back to get her going. 

Jackie was confused, but did as she was told. Inez, Matt, and Digit followed her, with Matthew, Jacqueline, and Zeny close behind. They ran into a dark room and slammed the door shut, then they heard the old man lock it from outside. Jackie looked at the door, then said, "what was that all about?"

"Come with me," Matthew ordered them, "and I'll show you."

The kids looked at each other, then at Matthew, then shrugged and followed him. The room was larger than they had expected, and through the darkness they saw Matthew turn a corner, with Zeny and Jacqueline following him. The kids and Digit turned the corner as well, and found that Matthew was standing next to a small stream of light. The light came from a small, glassless window, and as soon as the kids entered it he pointed up and commanded, "Look."

The kids slowly walked across the room and towards the window. Shielding their eyes from the light, they lifted their faces to it and watched as the hooves of three or four horses came thundering by, with spectacular speed. They ducked low, seeing that there were two more of the jet-black riders accompanying the other two horses. The riders on top of those two were blocked by the citizens.

They could see the horses plain as day, though. One was the most elegant horse they'd seen in a long time; it was as black as the night, with a glossy metal shine and a dark silver mane and tail, brilliantly combed. The horse's tail came down to the top of its hooves, and the mane was beautifully crested, like the horses they had seen driven around so much at Mt. Olympus. Only it was like the Dark Riders' horses—it looked like a cross between an earth horse and a cyber-horse.

The second one was slightly shorter, and a snowy white color. Its mane and tail were brown colored, and it had black splotches on its head and legs, as if it had fallen into a tar pit and had gotten its head and legs stuck in the muck. Its tail was docked, and a gold band was tied around the edge.

As soon as the horses had halted, the rider on the black-and-white horse jumped down from its back. They could only see the silhouette, as night was starting to fall, but they heard the voice as plain as day:

"On your knees, ya' scumbags!"

The voice sounded like Buzz's. They squinted, to try and see the figure in full view, but their results were unsuccessful. Then, the light from a nearby torch in the wall was lit, at last giving full view of the figure standing in front of the citizens.

The kids' eyes widened, but they said nothing, for fear of the rider noticing them. Now illuminated, he looked exactly like Buzz, except he seemed an inch or two taller—maybe that was because of the knee-high black army boots that he had on his feet. He was also wearing light brown leather gloves that came up to his elbows, and a badge pinned to one side of his chest. He carried a riding crop in one hand. On his head was an old-style General's hat; it had four stars embroidered on it and a large, peacock blue feather sticking out of the brim.

As he gave this command, the citizens immediately fell to their knees. He crossed his arms and smiled with pleasure, as the second unknown rider descended from his horse—the brilliant jet-black one. He too stepped into the light of the torch.

The kids blinked, but they didn't see anything recognizable about this particular figure. He was wearing a tan-colored suit, with tan shoes to match. A black bowtie was laced around his neck, and a dark colored cape fell down from his shoulders. A glittering sword was lanced into a belt on his side.

Perhaps two of the queerest things that the kids saw in him were his hands—one was a golden color, the other iron gray—and his head. His face wasn't visible to the public, for he had a bronze cast helmet covering his entire head. His neck wasn't even to be seen. The kids didn't know what to think about this.

Inez turned her head away from the window to look at the three alternates. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing to the helmeted figure.

"That's Machinos," Jacqueline told her.

Inez gulped, but said nothing more. 

They continued to watch as Machinos looked down at the bowing citizens, made a disgusted sound, then cleared his throat and said, clearly and in an uncomfortably calm tone, "Hello, citizens. You know that I am here for a reason—" several of the bowing figures started shivering—"but before I go any further, I would like to inform you of something."

Digit stared up at Machinos. He was starting to become more and more familiar with the villain, but he was still unsure of what exactly it was. But he knew that he had heard that voice before. Many times. But he just couldn't remember whom exactly it came from at the moment…

Machinos continued. "You might notice that in the past battles I have fought, I have always kept this iron-clad helmet on my head." He rapped the brass helmet, then continued, rather roughly, "it is starting to become bothersome to me, not only because of the cramped insignificant space, but also because I feel that you fear me _because _you've never seen my real face."

The kids heard Jacqueline snort with disgust. "Yeah, he wrecks fifty cybersites and slaughters millions, and he says that it's the helmet they're afraid of."

"He's doing a 'cruel joke' again, Jacqueline," Zeny informed her.

"Is he going to take off his helmet?" Inez asked the alternates.

"I suppose so," Matthew whispered back to her, "But if he did I'd be surprised. He always wore that helmet in front of the public. He never removed it once. And I'm sure he won't now."

"Let's just watch," Jackie told Matt, Inez, and Digit. They nodded, then looked back out the window as Machinos continued:

"I want you to be afraid of who I am, my fellow citizens, not what I wear. So, without further ado, I shall remove my helmet and show you my _true _identity, and you shall never see this foul contraption on my head again."

The kids turned and saw that the alternates were next to the window too. They looked up as Machinos stepped into the darkness, then reached up towards the sides of his head and slowly lifted the helmet from his shoulders. He then dropped it on the ground, tossed his head, then slowly stepped into the light, revealing his true face.

And at that precise moment, no one's gasp of shock matched that of the kids'. 


	4. A close encounter

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter IV: "A close encounter"

Once Machinos's face was illuminated, it was no mistake whom his original had been. The yellow-lined eyes…the electrical antennae…the golden-yellow collar…the orange colored cord stuck into the back of his neck…all of these characteristics added up to one and only one well known individual…

"Delete!" Jackie said in shock, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear but not loud enough for anyone outside to hear. "He-_HE'S_ Machinos?"

They stared up at the villain for quite some time, trying not to believe what they were seeing. But it was every bit true; Machinos's face looked exactly like Delete's in every way, except for one thing: whereas Delete could see perfectly well with both eyes, Machinos had a thick glass monocle plastered over his left eye. It shone a vivid blue in the light and connected to a cord that ran down into a pocket on his chest. 

They continued to watch as Machinos slowly walked along the long row of bowing citizens, staring at each of them in an unimpressed manner as he walked by. Matt also made another observation about Machinos: with his one visible eye, his eyelid always remained halfway closed, in a bored or unsatisfied manner. _It's almost like that one time at Cybersite Nowhere… _Matt thought.

He snapped back to attention as Machinos stopped in front of one of the citizens, who the kids recognized as the old man. The General stopped next to him, then looked at the old man as Machinos snapped, "Get up."

The old man, not wanting to displease Machinos, immediately scrambled to his feet, shivering with fear as his eyes met Machinos's. The one ice-cold eye seemed to stab straight through him…like a spiritual knife of some sort…

"You know what I'm here for," Machinos said to him, his voice cold. "I came here for a good reason. I'm now persevering something—something not made of cold titanium or steel—no, something made of flesh and blood. Something that I've desperately wanted ever since that horrible ordeal two years ago." 

The old man quaked with fear, as Machinos said, even more coldly than before, "I'll just get right down to the point—" he reached down near the side where his sword was lanced in a threatening gesture—"_Where are the freedom fighters!?_"

The old man's eyes grew wide as he stared at the sword, glinting in the light of the torches. Machinos seemed poised to pull it out, but he knew that he had to keep the promise that he had made years ago. Swallowing hard, he looked Machinos straight in the eye and said, firmly but shakily, "There is no one you want here, Lord Machinos."

He then made a frightened noise as Machinos swiftly whisked the sword out and held it to the old man's neck. He softly pressed the blade against the old man's flesh, saying through clenched teeth, his face set in a death-toll glare, "You may want to reconsider the words you have just spoken. An hour ago three of my best men came back tied down by the reins of their own horses. I think I _know _the work of the freedom fighters!"

The old man could only sputter in horrible fright as down in the room, the kids were staring at their alternates in an odd way, as if saying, _Are you the freedom fighters?_

Matthew seemed to read all four expressions like a book. He sighed, then said, "Guys, there's something we didn't tell you before. Because of our defeat of the Dark Riders, everyone in cyberspace dubbed us with the group name 'Freedom Fighters'. It's been our nickname ever since we partly destroyed Machinos's army. Wherever we go, he usually follows."

"But that could pose a serious danger to us!" Inez exclaimed.

"I know," Matthew said. "Because you look almost exactly like us, he'll try and come after you as well. He's always been chasing us like this. He won't stop until he's found and killed us all."

"But what do we do if Machinos finds us in here?" Jackie asked, terrified. "He's got a sword with him! A real, authentic medieval sword!"

"Shh!" Jacqueline told her alternate. "He won't find us as long as Homer covers for us."

"But it doesn't look like he's having much luck," Matt observed from the window.

"Let's hope this pulls through, or I don't want to know what'll happen," Inez said.

They then heard Machinos speak again, and quickly turned back to the window so that they could watch what else was happening.

"You're toying with the wrong villain, senior," Machinos said, pressing the blade tighter to the old man's neck, drawing blood and sending it down the neck and shoulders in small streams. "Tell me where the freedom fighters are at _once, _or else I'll be forced to do something to _make _you."

The old man took a deep breath, then said, even more shakily than before, "I swear to you, Lord Machinos, there are no freedom fighters here. They merely passed through this town during their travels, but they're long gone now. I—I suggest you ride out of town to catch up with them before they inflict any more harm towards your army."

Machinos glared. "That isn't funny," he said angrily. 

"I greatly apologize, my lord!" the old man quickly said, raising his arms up in a sign of mercy. "I never meant to offend you! Don't kill me, Sire! Please!"

Machinos cocked his eyebrow again and stared at the old man, a look of consideration on his face. After a long moment of this, he glared and at last spoke:

"Well, I suppose I'll accept your apology and spare you as well—_this time." _He withdrew the sword and lanced it back into his belt._ "_And as for your request upon leaving town, I shall be doing so…" 

The old man, and the alternate kids, breathed a sigh of relief, but this wasn't to last long, as right after that Machinos finished, an evil smirk on his face, "Right after my riders search this nice little tavern of yours."

The sigh of relief was replaced by a shocked gasp. The old man fell back to his knees at Machinos's feet and pleaded, "No! Don't! Please don't! We'll do anything you please, my lord—just _don't _scale the tavern!"

"And why don't you want me to, may I ask?" Machinos asked calmly, raising an eyebrow. 

The old man gulped, then said, "Well—you see, the thing is—"

"Break down the door!" Machinos snapped at the two Dark Riders standing behind him, ignoring the old man's remark. The old man made a frightened noise, then closed his eyes as the two riders slowly walked up to the door…

Below in the backroom, the kids could hear the sound of splintering wood and falling timber as the door gave way. Jackie gasped and said, putting her hands to her face, "They're coming in! What do we do! What do we do!"

"Calm down, Jacks!" Inez said, although she was a bit frightened herself. "I'm sure our alternates have been in many a tight squeeze as this one, and I'm sure that they know how to get us out." She turned towards the three alternates, then said, hopefully, "Right, guys?"

The three alternates only stared at her helplessly. Then Matthew finally said, after a short period of time, "Well, there is another way out. It's near the back, but we have to make sure that we get out there and onto Skyrider before it's too late."

"And what if we don't get out in time?" Inez asked.

"Then I'm afraid we'll have to face the Dark Riders' swords." 

"They know we're going to try and attack them, so we can't win," Jacqueline informed them, as the kids had a look on their faces saying, _Why can't you just fight them like you did last time?_

They then heard the sound of splintering wood again as the backroom door was broken down. Matthew, knowing that there was no time to waste, started running down the hallway, with Jacqueline and Zeny following him. "Come on!" he called to the kids and Digit.

The four looked behind them and, deciding that there was no other way out of this, started running down the hall after the kids. They could hear the footsteps of the Dark Riders as they came down the winding hallways after them, and by the sounds of it, it sounded like they were getting closer to them by the second. They also had their swords drawn out; Jackie could tell by the clanking of the metal.

Matthew finally stopped and looked up; the others stopped behind him. They too looked up, and saw a trapdoor in the ceiling. Matthew quickly told the kids, "This trapdoor leads directly to the outside." He began jumping up, reaching for the rope that triggered it. "If I can just—reach it—"

"Hurry!" Jackie urged him, looking down the hallway behind her. She could see the shadows of the Dark Riders looming over the walls.

Matthew tried several times to jump, but all of his attempts proved unsuccessful. He finally landed back down on the ground and said, panting, "I can't—reach it."

Digit looked up, then said, getting an idea, "I think I can."

"Go for it, Didge!" Inez told him.

"Alright," Digit said. He began to position himself for flight. "A little wing room, please!"

The kids got out of the way as Digit flew up, then with his beak yanked on the rope. The trapdoor fell open almost instantly, and a ladder—dusty with age—descended down. Matthew, with one swift jump, leapt up onto it, then pulled Jacqueline and Zeny up after him. Matt got up next, followed by Jackie and Inez. Digit flew out, closing the trapdoor just as the Dark Riders entered the hallway, looking quite a bit shocked.

"Whew," Inez said, looking at the now closed trapdoor, "That was close."

"Too close, if you ask me," Digit said, slumping on the ground and wiping some sweat from his forehead.

"Come on, we're not safe yet," Matthew told them, getting to his feet. "We still need to mount Skyrider and get out of town before Machinos himself comes after us—and trust me, he's not as merciful as the Dark Riders are."

"The Dark Riders? Merciful? HAH!" Inez laughed, as they got to their feet after Matthew. 

Matthew quickly whistled, and Skyrider at once came leaping down from the sky, this time much sooner, being closer to their location. Matthew mounted her, followed by Jacqueline, Zeny, Inez, Matt, Jackie, and Digit. He then snapped the reins, and Skyrider reared up, then quickly galloped out of the town, leaping nimbly over the large gates on the way without doing so much as even pausing. 

Once they were about ten yards from the town, Matthew slowed Skyrider to a trot. He then panted and said, "Another close call."

"So—that figure back there, the one that looked like Delete…HE was _the _Lord Machinos?" Digit asked.

"Yes," Jacqueline said, a trace of annoyance in her voice tone. "What did we just tell you earlier!"

"He's a jerk," Digit stated.

"Hah, now you know how we feel," Matthew said. "We have to put up with that almost all the time. He can somehow always predict where we've went, and unfortunately, his predictions are always right. It never fails…" He trailed off again.

"Isn't there _any _place that Machinos doesn't go to or hasn't attacked yet?" Inez asked. "Because we can't run from him all the time. We need to rest once in a while too."

"I don't think that there's any place that Machinos hasn't attacked," Zeny told them. She stopped, then said, turning her gaze to Matthew, "Is there?"

Matthew thought, then said, "There is one place. Zeny, Jacqueline, remember that old windmill out in that deserted field?"

Zeny and Jacqueline thought, then said, nodding their heads, "Yeah…"

"We'll go there," Matthew informed them all. "That windmill used to be a flour processing area before the cyberspace Dark Age. I'm sure that we can find some refuge there."

"But why hasn't Machinos attacked that windmill yet?" Inez asked. "I thought you said he destroyed nearly _every _cybersite."

"He doesn't go near that one for some odd reason," Matthew informed her. "It's the only place that he hasn't set foot on, and I'm sure of it that we'll be safe from him there…for the time being."

He then cleared his throat and told them, "It's a good two hundred miles over there, though. I suggest that we get there before daybreak, or Machinos will be upon us again, and, after your ordeal, I'm sure you don't want that to happen."


	5. The reason for grudge

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter V: "The reason for grudge"

It was daybreak when the kids, after riding Skyrider (now in a brisk trot) for what seemed like forever across the dusty, lonely plains, at long last reached their destination. Now, the sun was just beginning to rise from behind the mountains as the horse entered what seemed like an endless field of tall, gray-ish grass. Matthew, who had been close to dozing off at this time (the others were already asleep), was gazing down at the ground, his eyes half closed, when he saw it slowly passing him. This seemed to be a wake-up call for him; he jolted upright and switched Skyrider to a light canter across the field.

Skyrider was nimble enough not to violently bounce every step, as some horses often do when cantering; but it wasn't enough to keep her front and back legs evenly paced. The motion woke up Digit, who was near Skyrider's tail, first, and went up from there. Inez had just begun to stir at this time, and, as her vision cleared up, she could see a tall, lifeless windmill standing in the center of the field. 

The sky had become a dusty gray by this time, and the windmill could be seen more clearly as Skyrider drew closer. Inez straightened her glasses and examined the windmill from afar; it was a tall, lonely one, the one you usually see on abandoned farms, with the metal support bars and the spinning device at the top looking like an odd daisy. It had rusted over time, and below the large structure she could make out a small brick shack, built right into the bottom of the windmill's bars. The flower shaped top spun weakly every now and then when a light breeze came up, but other than that it was perfectly still.

She continued to stare at it as Skyrider cantered towards it, slowed down to a trot about three yards away, and finally stopped in front of the small brick shack. Matthew stretched, then dismounted her, with the kids and their alternates following. As soon as they were off, Matthew led Skyrider over to one of the windmill's support bars and tied her to it, using the reins. He then turned to the others and said, sounding worn down, "Come on."

The others followed him to the shack, then watched as he pushed open the wooden door. A stream of light shot into the inside, displaying the full interior to the kids and Digit. 

It looked like it hadn't been set foot in for well over five hundred years. It was dusty, moldy, and gave out the smell of dirt. The walls were dripping water and the ceiling was no better. The floor wasn't even covered; they could see the grass and dirt spread out across it. There was an old fireplace in the corner, but it seemed too wet to do anything with. Jackie scrunched up her face, then said, in a much-disgusted tone, "_This _is where we're going to be _sleeping?"_

"Yes," Jacqueline said. She walked inside and lay down on her side near one of the walls. "Take it or leave it, it's the only place where you'll be safe from Machinos. Now lie down, you've been up nearly all night."

Matt, Inez and Digit, not really caring much about the house's quality, slowly trudged over and lay down next to Jacqueline. They fell asleep instantly, and Matthew immediately joined them. Jackie uneasily looked down at the dirt-covered floor, then finally sighed and, finding a spot without much dirt, lay down, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth. She fell asleep at once.

As the kids peacefully slept inside the shack, with Skyrider doing the same outside, tethered to the windmill pole, little did they know that they would face Machinos again very soon…

_CLANG!_

The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the large room as Machinos and the General clashed swords. Knowing that they would not be doing much until sundown, the two had decided to take part in a two-man sword fight. It had been the General's idea, and Machinos, who was a pro with weaponry such as swords and maces, had accepted whole-heartedly. He enjoyed making a fool out of people, even the commander that he so trusted.

Machinos and the General withdrew their swords from the clash, then Machinos quickly slashed at his opponent. The General could barely place himself in a defensive move before, with another loud _CLANG, _Machinos's sword hit against his and, without doing so much as stopping, he started to place force on the sword, driving the General's dangerously close to his body. 

The General, thinking quickly, withdrew his sword and nimbly jumped backward as Machinos used full force, bringing the sword forward and nearly slicing him in half. He then leapt at Machinos again, this time using a middle attack. Machinos quickly dechipered the General's move however and, before the General had a chance to attack, Machinos thrust up his sword in a defensive move, quickly stopping his opponent's sword in its tracks. 

The General, finding the approach useless now, withdrew the sword, then turned his gaze towards Machinos's lower body. He decided to try a low attack; if he brought the sword down quickly enough it would be just the right place to inflict a large cut down the leg. Even though this seemed like a minor accomplishment, it would actually be a pretty large feat for the General himself; no one had ever been able to inflict a wound on Machinos except the freedom fighters, and even that was two years ago.

The General held up his sword and waited for the right moment to strike. Machinos looked at him, and, seeing that the General had placed himself in a defensive mode, slowly started to lower his sword. 

The General at once saw his chance and quickly swung the sword low, but about three feet away the sword was stopped at once by Machinos's, and yet another loud _CLANG _ensued. The General turned his gaze up towards Machinos's; Machinos looked indeed very smug at the moment. 

As the General withdrew his sword from the hold, Machinos said, "Honestly, General, you fight like a kindergartner."

"Dat's only because I'm fightin' you!" the General replied. He scanned Machinos's body for another possible attack, but before he could find one Machinos quickly swung the sword, knocking the General's out of his hand. The General let out a shocked yelp as the sword spun through the air and stuck itself into one of the stone pillars point first.

The General stared at his sword, then turned to Machinos, who had his sword raised, and said quickly, as so not to get a wound inflicted on his self, "Uh, you win, Machinos! Good game, eh?"

Machinos didn't answer, but sighed, lowered the sword and once again lanced it back into his belt. He then turned around and started to walk off. The General, curious at this sudden change of mood, quickly followed him.

As they were going down the hall, Machinos stopped in front of one of the doors. He stared at it for a while, standing completely still as the General approached him. The General looked up at the door and recognized it at once; it was the door that led to the underground coal mines. Machinos had stationed many of his slaves there, and by the stern look on his face the General guessed that he was thinking of a new way to punish them.

"Uh, Sire?" the General asked.

Machinos glanced at him. "What?" he replied, not sounding the least bit curious.

The General sighed, then said, "I was wonderin'…you're seeming to be a bit too hard on 'da slaves lately. I was thinking about you giving them a break once in a while. I mean, no one can work forever…"

He stopped when he saw that Machinos had started to laugh at him. He couldn't help but glare at this; Machinos never seemed to take him seriously. "I mean it, Sire," he said impatiently.

Machinos stopped and said, "Let me tell you something about slaves, General. Do you have any idea what they're doing here?"

"Uh…because you enslaved them during your countless attacks?"

"No. It's because they are weak." He glanced down at his hand in a bored manner, then looked at the General and said, "Walk with me. I explain better during movement."

The General seemed a bit reluctant about this at the time, but sighed and trotted after Machinos as he continued to walk down the hallway. As soon as he was beside the villain, Machinos continued, in a stern tone, "You understand about the structure of the universe, General. He put us here to serve a special purpose. Some He makes strong, others He makes weak whose only purpose is to please the strong. Are you with me so far?"

"I think…"

"Good. As I was saying, the weak's purpose is to serve and please the strong of the world. The slaves down in that dank coal mine at this moment He made weak, but I—ah, I was made one of the strong. I did not care about the weak, for I knew that the weak's only purpose was to amuse me. Thus, I made the only acceptable ones slaves and put the rest out of their misery. And you know why?" The General shrugged. "Because the strong love the taste of _blood. _Blood is what keeps the strong alive. The sight of it renews their spirits, and the smell of it induces their will to fight. Which is why I enjoy the death of the weak. It brings me to my feet, and it helps make me the violent fighter that I am."

The General nodded; he was beginning to feel uneasy about Machinos's explanation. But Machinos wasn't done yet, for he sighed and continued, in a more depressed tone, "Sadly, the weak started to displease me a long time ago. The sight of their blood, nor their begging, pleading cries of mercy could ever perk me up. No matter how many I killed or enslaved, it never worked."

"But why?" the General asked, curious.

A glint of anger seemed to flash through Machinos's one visible eye. He stared at the General and said, in a low, angry tone, "Why? _WHY?! _I'll tell you why, you recycled tin can. It started two years ago, when I had to witness the slaughter of _half my own army!" _He clenched his hand into a fist, then continued, "I could only watch them fall. Heads were sliced off. Limbs were severed. The blood of my followers was splattered all over the ground. And how they fell!—Ugh, it's just too horrible for words anymore."

The General looked at Machinos, and for a moment felt a small pang of guilt. He had made Machinos and the remaining half of the army retreat after that, and it was a tough job to do as well. Machinos seemed to want to go down with his army. He wouldn't budge until the Dark Riders dragged him away. They were killed as soon as they let go of him, and he still couldn't forget that either.

"I'm sorry 'ta hear 'dat," he said.

"No, you shouldn't be sorry. The only ones who deserve to be sorry are the freedom fighters. I swore revenge on them the day that they slaughtered my army. I tried to get back at them by kidnapping Codebird, but that didn't seem to please me. I want them all dead, General. I won't rest until their heads are chopped off and their blood is used to paint the walls."

"Sire, I am your loyal follower in every way, but don't you think 'dat 'dat sounds a bit—well, drastic?"

"And in how, may I ask?"

"Well, uh—"

"See, even you don't know the reason for my task being drastic. It's merely another mystery to you…"

The General sighed, then said, "Well, we could at least do somethin' else while you're planning 'dat. We could maybe go wreck another cybersite or area, like—I don't know—possibly 'dat field with 'da windmill—"

He was drowned out by a loud, piercing shriek from Machinos. He could only watch as Machinos grabbed the sides of his head, then started violently shaking, his teeth clenched and sweat dripping down his face. He finally clutched his eye, the one that the monocle was plastered over, then turned to the General and said, sounding furious, "What did I tell you earlier! If I've told you once, I've told you a million times—you must NEVER—and I mean NEVER—mention…the…windmill!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know—"

"Of course you don't! You weren't there when the incident happened! Have you ever wondered why I never go near that windmill!"

The General shrugged. Machinos sighed shakily again, then said, "Never mind that, then. That's another story. In the meantime, there's something I want you to do for me."

"What?" the General asked, regaining himself from when after Machinos had snapped at him.

"Judging by my senses, the freedom fighters went west." He turned his head towards the General. "Do you know the nearest location west?"

The General knew, all right, but he wasn't about to say it. "Uh…yes," he said, nodding his head quickly.

Machinos looked at him; his eyes seemed sunken. "Good. Here's what I want you to do. Gather up five of my swiftest, nimblest riders and lead them out there at high noon. If the freedom fighters are there, they'll run from you. I want you to then chase after them and catch them. Whatever the circumstances, I want you to bring at least ONE back to me."

"Dead or alive?"

"I don't care. Dead would be the most satisfying to me, but if it looks worthy, don't kill it just yet. Merely injure it, and bring it back. If you're wrong, I'll take care of the killing job myself."

The General saluted, then turned around and headed off. Machinos stared up at the stained glass portrait on the ceiling, which showed him leading his riders into battle, and muttered, his eyes narrowing into a death glare, "I don't care who you are, you'll pay. You'll pay _dearly._" 


	6. The chase

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter VI: "The chase"

It was late in the morning when the kids finally stirred—well, one of them, at least. That one kid was Jackie, who was disturbed from slumber earlier than the others because of her dislike of the cold, hard floor she had been sleeping on; Also, being a fashion freak, she disliked the way the dust had collected on her clothes.

She slowly got up, rubbed at her eyes, then looked around. Still a bit drowsy, she expected to find herself in her bedroom. When she found that she was surrounded by the moldy, dripping walls, she was shocked at first, but then remembered as her mind started to clear up, _Oh yeah…we're still in an alternate universe…I forgot…_

Yawning, she got to her feet, then, dusting herself off, walked towards the door of the shack. She hesitated to touch it; it was covered with dust and dirt, but finally accepted and pushed it open.

Looking outside, she saw that the sky was still gray, and there was a light wind blowing. She didn't need to step outside to tell; she heard the windmill's rusty squeaking as it turned around due to the breezes; that and that the gray grass was rippling across the field, kind of like the wheat fields that she used to see so often at Matt's farm.

She looked around for any sight of Machinos or other danger, then, seeing nothing of the sort, stepped outside. The wind blew her hair as she looked across the field. She had to be the only thing alive—besides the others in the shack—for at least 300 miles. It was kind of odd, in a way, kind of like at Sensible Flats that one time, only with a lot more grass. She took a few more steps forward, then turned around to look at the windmill.

It looked the same as it had always been, of course, but she had only seen it earlier in the day, when the sun hadn't completely risen yet and the sky was a deeper gray. Now, in full daylight, she could see not far away from the windmill's location a dense forest. It stretched out across the horizon as far as the eye could see, and she guessed that it was early in the fall over here, for all the leaves were missing from the trees, excluding the evergreens and several others. _Kind of like at home…_she thought, then quickly shook it off. She didn't want to think about anyone back home when she was trapped for what seemed like forever in another world; another universe.

She sighed, then looked around. Still seeing no danger, she decided that she would fancy exploring the forest; nothing in there could possibly be too dangerous for her to handle. After all, Zeny, Jacqueline, and Matthew had said that there were no dangers except Machinos, and he—and the Dark Riders as well—were nowhere to be seen. 

Taking a light step forward, she walked, then sped up to a run, across the field, zipping past the windmill and the shack and heading towards the forest. The wind had never felt so good on her face. She wondered if she had ever felt anything like this before; if not, it was very relaxing, bracing too. She now knew why it was used so often in drama movies.

As soon as she came to the edge of the forest, she stopped and looked back, then ran into the dense line of trees, disappearing from view…

She walked through the forest for quite some time, looking up at the evergreen canopy above her head and listening to the wind blowing the leaves. She stopped in the middle of a clearing and sighed; this was the most relaxing moment she'd had in a while.

She then stopped and listened. Over the rustling of the leaves she thought she could hear another noise…it sounded a lot like rushing water. She put her hand to her ear and listened harder. Yes! It was rushing water! And it sounded like it was coming from an area to the right of the clearing.

Fighting against the thick brush at the edge, she finally emerged from the clearing—and found herself less than three yards from a large waterfall. Mist rose up from the cliff as the water roared into the river below, then splashed down the rapids. The air smelled like morning rain. She stared at the beautiful sight for a while, then looked over to her right and saw another river, the one that led to the waterfall. The current was strong, but she decided to take that chance and walked over towards it.

Dipping her hands in the water, she took some of it up in her fingertips and splashed it on her face, to get the dirt off. It felt cool on her skin; she dipped her hands back into the water and splashed some more onto her face. 

She then dried her hands off on her skirt—it didn't really matter anymore, she thought—and had started to get up when she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps from across the river. And by the sound of it, it wasn't a woodland animal either. But she wasn't completely sure; after all, different animals had different footstep patterns…

She stopped, then listened harder. Over the sound of the footsteps, she could hear a light clanking sound. She knew that she had heard that sound before…and it wasn't a long time ago, either…

The clanking grew louder, and the dead leaves began to rustle under the unknown figure's feet. She then suddenly remembered where she had heard that noise. It was when they were running from the Dark Riders back in the Mt. Olympus surviving city…

_It was the clanking of a sword._

Jolting upright, she nearly stumbled backward as she got to her feet. She knew that a normal animal couldn't carry a sword, but a human or robot could. And she also took to mind that the only villain around the area was Machinos, or the General, or one of the Dark Riders. So it had to be one of them; What other possible explanation was there?

Without stopping to look at what was behind her, she bolted from the river and, quickly fighting her way back through the thick brush, continued to run as fast as she could through the forest. She didn't stop until she was out of the forest and in the field, where she momentarily stopped to catch her breath, dripping with sweat and water from the river, and covered with small pieces of leaves and twigs from running through the forest.

Turning towards the forest, she again heard the clanking of the swords. She quickly turned around and hightailed it again, this time not stopping to catch her breath until she reached the shack below the old windmill. Slightly startling Skyrider, now awake, she burst open the door; luckily, the others were just starting to get up.

"GUYS!" she shouted so loudly that the others jumped. "There—there's—"

"There's what?" Matthew asked. 

Jackie tried to tell them in complete sentences, but all she could do was stammer. _Oh man, _she thought to herself as she continued to say the word over and over, _what a time to be lost for words…_

She didn't need to tell them the entire thing, though, for Zeny had noticed Skyrider rearing and pawing at the ground outside; it was almost like the horse was uneasy or frightened about something. She immediately ran over to where the horse was standing, then looked to the opposite side. A confused look crossed her face for a moment, then she turned in the other direction. The kids then heard her gasp, and watched as she ran back in, panting wildly, as if her throat was dry or something. 

"Well, what is it?" Matthew asked.

"The—Dark Riders are coming across the field, Matthew—" she said, sounding a bit frightened. "They know we're here; we can't attack them—"

"How many?" Jacqueline asked her.

"Five," Zeny informed her, regaining her breath. "And they seem really swift…But that's not the worst part. They're being led by—" she gulped, then said, "the General."

Matthew's face turned from a look of confusion to a look of deep concern. "Oh, no…" 

"We have to get away from them!" Inez said, sounding terribly worried. "If they catch us, we're done for!"

"I know, I know," Matthew said, sounding a bit worried himself. "Come on, get outside. We have to get out of here _now._"

The kids, not stopping to hesitate, quickly ran out the door, Digit last. Matthew fumbled with the ropes that held Skyrider to the pole, every now and then looking up from his work and staring out worriedly at the six advancing shapes on the horizon.

After a few moments, he finally undid the ropes, then swung himself up onto Skyrider. The others followed as quickly as possible, and Matthew at once snapped the reins. The horse reared up, whinnied, and broke off into a gallop.

Unfortunately, the General at once spotted this. Halting his horse for a brief second, he turned his head towards the five riders selected for this mission and ordered, "We need to break into a gallop if we ever want to catch 'da kids. And remember what Machinos said—we don't stop until we have at least _one._"

The other riders nodded slightly, then the General smiled, then turned his head back towards the direction of the windmill and yelled, yanking on his horse's reins, "Onward, men!"

The black and white horse reared up, then shot off after Skyrider. The other riders followed this action, and in no time the General and the riders were in hot pursuit of the kids and their horse…

Skyrider continued to shoot across the field, as quick and sharp as an arrow, as Inez turned to look behind her and saw, to her horror, that the General and the riders were gaining on them, and fast. She turned her head towards Matthew and shouted, over the roaring of the wind in her ears, "Matthew! They're gaining on us!"

"They're what!" Matthew shouted. Inez didn't answer; by the sound of his tone he already knew very well what was going on. She saw him shudder slightly, then he shouted back to her, "I don't think we can make it! Skyrider can only go so fast!"

"You've got to try!" Inez shouted back. "If they catch us, we'll never see our dimension again!"

Matthew didn't answer, but Inez could tell that he was trying to urge Skyrider on, for he kept snapping the reins every thirty seconds, in estimate. Skyrider's sides heaved as she continued to run as fast as her legs would carry her, but she could only this fast so long…Inez hoped that she wouldn't tire out before they outran their pursuers. 

When they saw that this wasn't working, and noticed that Skyrider had slowed down a bit, Matthew finally yelled, "We're going to have to go into the woods!"

"Into the woods?" Matt asked, confused.

"Yes! It's our only chance!" Matthew said. "All the brush and trees in there should surely slow them down long enough for us to escape!"

"But it'll slow _us _down too!" Matt replied. 

Matthew didn't reply, but yanked the reins to one side. Skyrider whinnied, then made a sharp turn to the right, nearly throwing them off. She shot towards the woods, and as Inez looked behind her again she could see that the General and the riders, not the least bit stirred by this sudden movement, were still in hot pursuit of them. 

Skyrider entered the woods, and the kids had to duck low to avoid being hit by a low branch in their path. The horse was unfazed, however; she continued to nimbly leap over large rocks, dead logs, and other obstacles. Inez, keeping a close eye on what the General was up to, had seen that they were doing the same movements with their horses as well. _Almost like Follow the Leader…_she thought, then stopped and quickly shook it off.

She then turned ahead and, for a moment, yelped; they were approaching what looked like a large cliff of some sort. She stopped herself when she realized that Matthew knew how to ride a horse, but started worrying again when she saw that they weren't stopping, only gathering up more and more speed.

"Uh, Matthew?" she asked, looking at the ground below her, getting more blurred by the moment, "What are you doing?"

"We're going to jump the cliff!" Matthew informed her.

Inez's eyes grew wide at this. "WHAT!"

"You heard me," Matthew replied, keeping his eyes on the ledge in front of him, "We're going to jump the cliff. It's the only way to escape from the General."

"As in how?"

"Well, you see, the General has chased us many times when he gets the chance, but he's never jumped the ledge. Every time we jump over a ledge, he always stops before he can get the chance to do so."

"Is this safe?"

"We might have a slight risk of getting crushed if we don't make the jump, but I think we'll do nicely."

Inez gulped, then, as Skyrider approached the cliff, closed her eyes tightly and thought, holding onto the horse's back with as much force possible, _I hope he's right…_

She then felt a rush of air on her face as Skyrider leapt off the edge, sailed through the air, and landed on the other side, her back feet narrowly missing the deep pit below. Matthew then halted her as soon as they got about six feet away; she was panting harshly and, believe it or not, sweating with exhaustion. Inez opened her eyes and looked over at the ledge; the General and the riders were just approaching the side opposite of them.

The General was about to halt his horse, but then remembered Machinos's order and, instead of stopping, muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing, "You think you can get away with 'dat again, eh? Well, kiddies, it won't be happening _'dis _time!"

He dug into his horse's sides, then braced himself for impact as his horse leapt off the edge as well, her front feet and back feet held up in the ways of a carousel horse. The five riders looked at him as their horses approached the ledge, then they at once followed suite. 

When Matthew caught a glimpse of this, he gasped, then brought Skyrider back to a gallop just as the General and the riders landed on the ledge they had been standing on. Their horses snorted, then they charged after Skyrider again.

"I don't get it," Matthew muttered under his breath as he continued to urge Skyrider on. "He's never leapt the ledge before…I think he really means it this time! But wait…if that's true, then…"

He stopped at once, then tried to get Skyrider to go at a swifter pace, but she had become tired from running for so long. She started to slow down, to catch her breath, but Matthew continued to run her on, becoming more and more in despair. 

Digit, however, was more worried about falling off. While the kids and their alternates had kept a tight grip on Skyrider in any way, Digit, being near the rear of the horse, had started to slip off as soon as they had entered the woods. He had fallen halfway off already after the ledge jump, and with Skyrider running this fast he couldn't pull himself back up to a safe position. He was now holding on for dear life to the horse's tail, but it still wasn't good enough. He knew that with one more disturbance, any one at all, he would fall off.

This disturbance happened as soon as Skyrider leapt over a dangerously low branch near a large clearing. As she rose into the air, Digit lost his grip and, as Skyrider landed in the clearing, he landed about a yard behind her, with a sickening _CRUNCH _ensuing from his leg as he landed on it—hard. He then landed on his back, and for a moment just lay there, not wanting to move. 

He finally raised his head up and saw Skyrider disappearing into the trees, out of the clearing. Realizing that he was being left behind, he raised up his wing and called after them, "Jackie! Matt! Inez! Guys! WAIT!" 

He then tried to get up, but as he did a jolt of pain shot through his leg—the one he had landed on. He shrieked in pain, then fell back to the ground, clutching his leg and shouting, tears of pain in his eyes, "Ow! My ankle!"

He then looked down at the ground and saw that something—or someone—was overshadowing him. Not wanting to think about who cast this shadow for a moment, he suddenly realized after a while that he needed to look anyway, if he ever wanted to see what awaited him. 

Hesitating slightly in the middle of it, he shakily looked up and saw, sure enough, the General and three of the five Dark Riders, dismounted from their horses and looking quite pleased with themselves. They were also standing directly over him; the General seemed about his height but the riders were much taller, he observed. 

He now looked and saw that the General, an evil grin now on his face, was smacking his riding crop into one hand and saying, in a calm yet unpleasant tone, "Well, men, looks like we won't be going back empty-handed after all."

Digit tried to say something, but couldn't speak; his throat was too dry. He could only stare fearfully at the four figures, his teeth nearly chattering, and his leg greatly paining him more by the second. He could've run at this time, but his leg was killing him, of course...

The General looked at him for a moment, as though considering, then turned his gaze to the riders. Looking up at one, he commanded, in a stern tone, holding out his hand, "Give me your sword."

The rider said nothing, but merely nodded and pulled the sword out of his belt. He handed it to the General, who took it out of his hand. The General then examined the blade and said, in a pleased tone, "Yes, this will do nicely." He then looked at Digit and examined him all over, then finally took a step or two closer and raised the blade above his head.

Digit, at once knowing what was going on, was struck with a great fear. He tried to get up one last time, but only to end up collapsing on the ground again. Glancing up at the blade, he knew he had to do something—anything! But he was completely helpless…

"No! NO! Please no!" Digit pleaded, right before the General brought the blade down…


	7. Codebird

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter VII: "Codebird"

The kids and their alternates, not knowing what had happened with Digit back in the clearing just yet, were still running from the General and the riders when Skyrider, starting to wear out, saw the waterfall. Thinking it would be nice to cool off—she didn't know how high up the waterfall was—she ran over towards it. Matthew, noticing this at once, tugged back on Skyrider's reins and commanded sharply, "No, Skyrider! Halt! HALT!"

Skyrider, obviously ignoring Matthew's command, threw herself up off the ledge to the waterfall. A drop this far down would've killed them, but, fortunately for them, there were a bunch of rocks and smaller ledges jutting out from the area where Skyrider had jumped. They fell down the rocks, shouting in pain and surprise:

"OW! AH! DARNIT! YOW! WHOA! YEEK! WAA—"

Their last shout was drowned out by the six, and Skyrider, splashing into a pool of water below. The water was freezing cold, but it was shallow, and in no time the kids and their alternates, who had landed in the water headfirst, surfaced, coughing and gagging for air. Skyrider was sprawled out on her back next to them.

Jackie coughed, then said, "Matthew, I thought you knew how to control her!"

"I do!" Matthew replied. "It's just that she wouldn't listen." He glanced at Skyrider, then muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowed in annoyance, "Dumb horse…"

Skyrider attempted to nip at him; she had heard this. Inez coughed, then felt around for her glasses; they had been knocked off and had fallen into the water when she struck the last rock. She felt around under the water, looking for them, and found nothing.

"Aw, man!" Inez complained, smacking the water with her hand. "I think I lost my glasses!"

"That's a shame," Jacqueline said, rolling her eyes. Inez glared at Jackie, as she could not see all too well, and growled at her. 

"I'm Jackie, Inez," Jackie told her. She pointed in the direction opposite her. "Jacqueline's over there."

Zeny sighed, then removed her own glasses from her head and handed them to Inez. "Here," she said, "You can use mine. I only use them for reading anyhow."

Inez took the glasses from Zeny, then put them on her face. As she looked around, she found that Zeny must've had the same vision as her for reading; she could see just as well as she had with her old glasses. "Thanks."

She got up and looked around, then looked at the others, who were just getting out of the water (dripping wet, of course), and said, "Hey, guys?"

"What?" Matt asked, sitting down on a nearby rock and wringing the water out of his sweater.

"Do you notice that the General isn't chasing us anymore?"

Matthew looked up at the top of the ledge, shielding his eyes from the sun, then looked down at Inez and said, "Well, now that you mention it, I do notice that there's no one on top of the ledge, and I can't hear the sound of their horses anymore."

"Yes, that is very strange," Jacqueline said, standing beside Matthew and looking up at the ledge as well, "If they leapt that cliff, they should have leapt over this ledge as well by now."

"But why?" Zeny asked. "It's almost as if they got what they wanted and turned back."

"Zeny, I think that's _exactly _what happened," Matt said to her. "But I don't get it. They were after one of us, and…no one is missing." He looked around, then said, "Well, at least, I _think _so."

"Let me just double check," Inez said. She looked around, then said, "Okay, let's see…it looks like we're all here…except—uh oh…"

"What?" Matt asked.

"I don't see Digit anywhere," she said, in a nervous tone. "You—you don't think that maybe—"

"I don't know," Matthew said, looking down at the water and shaking his head. "I don't know."

"But if they caught Digit, wouldn't they kill him?" Jackie asked.

"That's usually what happens, yes," Jacqueline replied, nodding. She got up on the rock next to Matt and tossed her head. "If Digit was left behind, there's a good chance that he'll be killed."

"No! That can't happen!" Jackie shouted, in a worried tone. 

"It just has, I'm afraid," Matthew said.

Jackie lowered her head and looked down at the water, tears almost coming to her eyes. "No…Digit…it can't happen…it can't…"

For a while all was still, completely silent except for the roaring of the waterfall…

Digit finally came into consciousness about three hours later. Opening one eye, he groggily looked around him, then groaned, closed that eye, and lowered his head back down. The last thing he had remembered was the blade coming down on him…and then the maniacal laugh of the General as he started bleeding, then fell and lost all consciousness. Now that it was coming back to him, he finally opened his eyes and looked around. 

He found himself sprawled out on the back of a black and white horse, near the rear. He saw that the horse had a short brown tail, with a gold band tied around it, thus making it the General's horse. Groaning again, he knew that he must've been captured to be brought before Machinos. Well, at least it was better than being killed, he decided. 

He tried to get up, but he felt a sharp jolt of pain in his neck and leg. Letting out a surprised yelp, he fell back down, as the General looked behind him at the bird.

"Knock it off, boid," the General snapped, smacking him with his riding crop and causing him to wince in pain once again. "We're taking you to Machinos. Don't even try to escape, or you'll live ta regret it."

Digit looked at him, then lowered his head back down again. _How could I escape? My leg is broken and my neck is killing me, _he thought to himself. He then gulped and looked up at the General, who was now looking straight ahead with a serious look on his face. _I just hope Machinos doesn't try to kill me again…_

He then closed his eyes again as the General slowed the horse to a trot, then stopped completely. Digit felt too weak and tired to turn up his head again, but he did hear the General place his hand on something, then he heard the sound of a door sliding up. The horse then started trotting again, then, after what seemed like five minutes, slowed to a walk. It then stopped completely.

"Get up!" the General snapped at him, whacking him in the back with the riding crop. Digit winced in pain again, then slowly tried to get up, but his leg and neck wouldn't let him. He fell back down again, as he heard the General mutter a few words under his breath, then say to someone else, "Youse two carry him into 'da main room. He's obviously too weak to walk by himself."

Digit then felt himself being lifted up by what seemed like two strong pairs of hands. He knew that it was most likely the Dark Riders, but he didn't open his eyes to make himself completely sure. He then felt himself being dragged. 

Finally too curious to have his eyes remain closed any longer, he opened them and looked up at the ceiling, to find himself staring at a beautifully colored stained glass portrait. It looked a lot like a battle, but he wasn't completely sure. He then looked to the side, and saw some pillars, made of a smooth and nicely crafted marble. Looking down, he saw that the floor was made of marble as well. 

As they reached some marble steps, he heard the sound of footsteps echoing through the hallway. Before he could look up, however, he heard the General say, "We brought this back to you, my lord" and then he was thrown forward. 

He landed roughly on the ground, making the pain in his neck and leg even worse than before, and, still lying on his stomach, looked up. He saw before him a tall, slim, nicely clothed figure—a figure that looked like Delete with a monocle over his eye; he knew at once who this was.

Machinos looked at Digit questionably for a moment, then turned his gaze to the General. "And you say that this was the only one you brought back?"

"Yes, Sire," Digit heard the General reply clearly. "The others got away before we could catch up with them."

Machinos nodded, then looked down at the bird at his feet. "I see…" He then eyed Digit's leg (the one that he had landed on), cocked his eyebrow, then stood up straighter and commanded to Digit, "Stand up."

Digit looked up at Machinos, then opened his mouth to say something. "I—"

"_Stand up_." Machinos commanded again, only in a much harsher tone. 

Digit, not wanting to get cut again, shakily pulled himself up with his wings and tried to remain standing; however, when he placed his injured leg down, as so to get a good balance, the pain shot through it again and he fell to the ground with a loud THUD. 

Machinos narrowed his eyes, then turned up towards the General and said, "His leg's broken."

"Um, yes," the General replied nervously. "Ya see, he…sort of fell off the horse when she jumped over a log. We brought him here because he looks like he may be a good co-worker to Codeboid."

Machinos glared at him, then looked back down at Digit, who was wheezing and sweating from the pain in his leg. He shook his head silently, then said to the General, "Well, there is a strong resemblance…throw him down in the mine with Codebird, then. I'll see how he fares." He then looked down at Digit and said, "And you know what'll happen if you don't meet my expectancies, birdie?"

Digit shook his head. Machinos then smiled evilly and ran his hand across his neck, in a straight line, hissing, "_Kkkkkkk_!"

Digit winced, then started shaking as the Dark Riders walked over and lifted him up again. Machinos had turned his back to them and was starting to walk off when he heard the General say, "Sire, aren't you going to bandage his leg back up?"

"What do I look like, a doctor?" Machinos snapped. "Throw him down and leave him be! His bones will knit soon enough."

"As you wish, Sire," was the General's reply.

The Dark Riders then dragged Digit down another hallway, then stopped at a door about halfway. The General then took a key out from under one of his gloves, unlocked the door, and threw it open. At this, the Dark Riders threw Digit down into the doorway, then slammed the door just as Digit roughly fell down a long flight of dusty stairs, then landed on his back at the bottom. 

As he looked up at the ceiling, a drop of water fell from above and landed on his face, then slowly trickled down onto the floor, which absorbed it, being only soft dirt. He rubbed the excess water off of his face, then slowly tried to get up, but fell back down again. He sighed, thinking to himself; _will this leg of mine ever knit?_

He closed his eyes again and was about to try and drift off to sleep, being very weak, when a voice was heard from down in the area where he had landed. "Hey, guys! I think they've got another one!"

Digit muttered something under his breath, then opened one eye. Although his vision was becoming slightly blurred, he could make out three figures, running down (what looked like the hall) towards him. He didn't feel like getting up, but he knew that he had to if he ever wanted to find out who they were.

Shaking violently, he tried to pull himself up with his wings, as he had tried to do in front of Machinos, but collapsed back onto the dirt again. He groaned as the three figures came up to him, then looked him all over. Finally, one of them said, "I think that his leg's broken. We need to get him something to tend to it as soon as possible."

"Yeah, I think that we have something for him down in the mine shaft…Hey, you know what? He looks just like you!"

At this, Digit finally raised his head up and opened his eyes again. At first his vision was blurred, but as it came into focus he could see himself face to face with a figure that looked exactly like him, only this bird was dirtier, ragged, was missing his cap and shoes, and had chains tied around his legs. One of his tail feathers was chipped, and—although Digit wasn't completely sure of it—there was an 'M' mark engraved into his side. 

As Digit stared at his copy, the look-alike bird finally took a deep breath and introduced himself with three very simple words:

"Hi. I'm Codebird."


	8. A private talk with Zeny

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter VIII: "A private talk with Zeny"

Digit just stared in awe at Codebird for a while. Even for him, it was hard to believe that this dirty, scruffy bird was his alternate. He had expected Codebird to be cleaner, or at least having escaped from Machinos's clutches by now. But this…

"You're…Codebird?" he said wearily.

Codebird nodded, then slowly lifted him up by his wings. "Try not to move on that leg anymore," he told him. "You're only making it worse."

Digit groaned. He looked up at the other two figures, which were beginning to come into full view. At first he was unable to recognize them, due to his blurred vision, but as things finally came into full focus he could see them perfectly. One, he noted, was a tall woman-like figure, who had dark skin and bright red hair, in the oddest style he had ever seen. The other was tall, thin, and looked like the next mummified version of King Tut. He blinked, unable to believe what he was seeing for a second, then said, "Wha?—Hemaropa? Rahm?"

The two look-alikes looked at each other, then back at Digit. Finally, the Rahm look-alike said, in the same, snob-sounding English tone that the original Rahm used, "Good heck, what are you talking about?"

"Oh…wait." Digit finally came to and once again realized. "You're not the Rahm from my world…if you were you would've been destroyed. Sorry…" He coughed on some dust, then said, "What is this place?"

"You've been thrown into Machinos's mine shaft," Codebird informed him. "This is where all us slaves work…well, except the Three Fates, they're Machinos's tailors…"

"Yes. It's unfortunate that you were thrown in here—it's one of the worst places in the entire area—but it's better than the torture chamber," Hemaropa told him, tossing her head. "One of the slaves was sent there, and never came back out."

"Oh, boy…" Digit groaned.

"Don't worry about it. As long as you follow orders, nothing bad will happen," Codebird told him. "Now, come on, guys, we need to get something to bandage up this guy's leg…say, you never told me your name, did you?"

"My name? Oh, right. It's Digit," Digit told him.

"Very well, Digit," Codebird said. "Now, let's go down to the shaft."

Of course, the kids and their alternates didn't know that Digit was still alive, though quite a bit injured. They were sure that if the General had caught him, he would've killed him immediately. All six were deeply saddened by the sudden event, but none of them were as depressed as Jackie, Inez, and Matt. After all, they'd known Digit from the very first day that they entered cyberspace itself. And now, after all that they'd been through…

Inez sighed and looked up from the water, then, wiping a tear from her eye, turned her head up to face Zeny, who had just walked in. Her hair was wet; Inez guessed that she had just gone swimming.

"Hi, Zeny," Inez said sadly, toying around with a stick she'd found at the bottom of the shallows.

"Hi, Inez. Do you want to go swimming? I found a pool near an oasis that's just perfect for—" Zeny began, then stopped. "Hey, why so down?"

"I'll give you three guesses," Inez grumbled, running her hand through the shallow water.

"Oh, still sad about Digit, huh?" Zeny said. "I should've guessed when Jackie said that she was going off to the sunset cliff to muse. Well, I know how you feel…when we lost Codebird, it was more than a traumatic ordeal for us."

"You mean when Machinos kidnapped him?"

"Yeah." Zeny looked around, then said, turning back to Inez, "Well, I don't mean to change the subject, but this isn't exactly the best place for talking. Why don't we go somewhere else that's quiet and relaxing?"

"Like where?"

"Well, a few hours ago I found a place behind a waterfall—kind of like a spring of some sort. We can go there and discuss this, okay?"

"Okay," Inez agreed, nodding.

Zeny smiled, then turned around and started to walk off. Inez got up and followed her as she walked down the edge of the river to the waterfall, then took a deep breath and passed through it. Inez blinked, then looked at the water and, sighing, closed her eyes, held her breath, and passed through the water as well. She soon found herself in a cool, damp place, with the water from the waterfall rushing down the sides. A beam of sunlight shone through the side, and there was a large rock in that exact same beam. As the water started to clear from her glasses, she could see that Zeny was sitting cross-legged on it. She sighed again, then walked through the warm, shallow water so that she could sit up on the rock as well.

Inez took a deep breath, then said, "So, what was it like to find out that Fatherboard was dead, to begin with?"

Zeny stared ahead, as if in deep thought, then finally said, "It was one of the worst moments of my life. I mean, we'd been working with Fatherboard for a long time to begin with, and seeing him dead was one of the worst things to ever happen to us."

"What was it like, though?" Inez asked, curious.

"Well," Zeny said, closing her eyes, as if going into a flashback, "It was somewhat like this…"

"You see, we were returning home from cyberspace after a hard day of fighting Machinos, when all of a sudden the lighting and digits in the portal suddenly disappeared. We were floating through endless blackness. We had wondered what had happened, but before we knew what was happening entirely we were spit back out. We felt ourselves falling through, then we hit the ground and rolled across the dusty plains. We stopped near a large cliff near the Control Central grounds, at the bottom of a large hill… 

"You see, Inez, our version of cyberspace doesn't have a bunch of cybersites floating around, like you said to me earlier, when Jackie went off to muse. Our cyberspace is just like one big piece of land—all the cybersites are joined together, with nothing but a cliff separating them. Any highly skilled horseman with a good horse on his hands could leap over it without getting so much as a scratch. Just thought you'd know, in case there was any questioning this earlier."

"Well, I _was_ wondering how you and Machinos were able to get from cybersite to cybersite so quickly without any portals," Inez said, nodding.

Zeny smiled and nodded, then continued, "As we reached the horizon of the Control Central grounds, an eerie silence suddenly swept over us. There was no sound. Nothing was happening. Even the air was still.

"We wondered why, greatly, and as we looked over the hill we got a horrifying surprise. Every single rider and warrior in Fatherboard's army had been slaughtered; their horses had had the same treatment. All of them—ALL OF THEM—were lying on the cold, muddy ground, motionless, bloodied; some even had their limbs and heads chopped off. We knew at once that this was the work of Machinos and Machinos only. Well, you can tell that this surprised us greatly, but even though everyone in the army had been lost, we had wondered what happened to Machinos himself, despite the horrifying sight that we had just witnessed.

"Matthew suggested that the Dark Riders—they made up almost all of Machinos's army—and the General had gone off along with Machinos, having slaughtered the army. He said that it was probably all that they wanted. However, Jacqueline disagreed. She said that Machinos wouldn't leave without having as good a chance as this to get rid of Fatherboard once and for all, and become the new ruler of cyberspace. Although Matthew partly detested this, he had to admit that she was right.

"But it didn't take us long to find out that we were too late. Just as we had walked across the battlefield, Codebird (who had gone back to Control Central after our work was done, and had joined us when we were halfway) tapped Matthew on the shoulder, then, when he had gotten Matthew's attention, pointed over to the entrance of Control Central. We heard the footsteps, and at once ducked behind the carcass of a fallen horse. 

"We looked over just in time to see Machinos come out, a wide grin on his face. He had something clutched in his hand, but we couldn't see what it was until he mounted his horse; we hadn't even seen it there. He brought his horse into a gallop and rode off, but not before we saw what he had.

"It turned out, sure enough, to be his sword, and it was covered in black, sparking liquid. Codebird, tears coming to his eyes, muttered, 'he—he—oh, geez, Fatherboard…' and hid his face in his wings. We were too shocked by the event and looked out as Machinos disappeared over the horizon."

"Now that you tell it in full detail, I think it's more terrible than when you told it the first time," Inez said, drawing her knees up to her chest. "That must've been the worst moment of your life."

Zeny nodded, and looked out at the rushing water surrounding them. "Yeah, it was bad. We were angry as heck, mind you. We couldn't believe that Machinos would slaughter Fatherboard behind our backs—like, like some kind of wild _animal_!" She spat into the water in disgust, then continued, "We could only think of one thing at that time—REVENGE. Machinos had slaughtered Fatherboard and his army, cut off all the portals in cyberspace, and had separated us from earth forever. We wanted him to pay, and pay DEARLY."

"So, you set out to fight Machinos's army, right?" Inez said.

Zeny nodded once again, then continued, "So, about five days later, we heard of Machinos's whereabouts and set off, using Skyrider, the only surviving horse that had been left in the Control Central area…and, in case you're wondering, Inez, we didn't exactly know how she had survived. She might've been lucky and Machinos spared her, or she might've gotten free of the rope that held her and bolted off before Machinos could get to her as well…" She cleared her throat, then shook her head and said, "Anyway, as I was saying, we set out as soon as we heard of Machinos's next location, which was out in the destroyed cybersite of Happily-Ever-After Ville. As I was saying yesterday, the survivors had built another city, just like the one you saw on the outskirts of what used to be Mt. Olympus, and Machinos was going out there to finish them off.

"We arrived just as he was starting to burn it to the ground. He had half of his army with him, which was about…oh, 200 or 300 Dark Riders, plus him and the General. We rode up there, having some of the weaponry we had collected from the trashed cybersites ready. Anger was on our minds, and you could almost see the fury in our eyes.

"Jacqueline did the first task and threw a large and quite jagged rock at one of the riders with a sling to get the army's attention and hopefully Machinos's. Machinos didn't notice as the jagged piece struck the rider in the head, but somehow he did notice when the rider fell off of his horse. As soon as the rider hit the ground—he was dead, the jagged flint had found its way into his brain, miraculously—Machinos whipped around, then gritted his teeth and glared. He then looked up at the place where we were standing; he had a great look of hatred on his face. 

"We don't know how long we stood there, but finally Matthew gave the order to attack. We leapt off—which is dangerous, considering that about a fourth of the riders were on horses at this time. Matthew and Codebird stayed on Skyrider while we went on foot. The riders tried to overtake us, but being stuck in cyberspace for long periods of time had somehow given us new strength. We didn't know exactly how, or why, but we were able to take down a Dark Rider in a snap. Also, we had several weapons to help us with that task."

She smiled at the thought of this, then leaned back and continued, "We kept this up for hours, never tiring; this proved another advantage for us. Some of the Dark Riders tired quickly after about three hours of dodging and fighting, so as soon as they had their backs turned we would attack. And, just like Machinos had been with Fatherboard's army, we were merciless. We didn't care what happened to them. We sliced off their heads. We severed their limbs. We even slashed them in half if we got the chance. The only thing that we could think about was that Machinos and his army had killed the Fatherboard army, and Fatherboard himself. 

"About twelve hours later it ended. Every single Dark Rider was lying in the dust, brutally destroyed. Their horses had fallen with them; we didn't care. Machinos had fought as well, but Matthew somehow knew what he was planning to do and controlled Skyrider to the point where she could avoid Machinos's attempts to kill them. Matthew had always been a skilled horseman…

"The General was horrified at what we had done to the riders, but Machinos somehow didn't care a night about what condition they were in then. He was still on his horse, without any fatal wounds on his body, his sword raised. I wouldn't really be entirely sure but, knowing Machinos, I'd say that he still wanted to fight. The General begged him to retreat, but Machinos refused to listen to him. He said something like 'the slaughter of the army shall be avenged', then raised his sword and was about to strike Matthew.

"The General easily thought that he had reached the point of insanity and tried to get him away from us, even though he looked like he had second thoughts about what he was doing. Machinos tried to attack him too; he was vicious, but the General wouldn't take no for an answer, it seemed. He finally had to call upon two other Dark Riders in the other half of the army to come and drag him away. Machinos tried to kill them but he couldn't get a good hold on their throats or chests, for that matter. He finally looked at us and screamed, 'You won't get away with this, you insolent brats! I'll destroy you one way or another, but you must pay!'"

"What did he do then? I mean, how did Codebird get captured?" Inez asked. "I thought one of you said that he did it during the retreat."

"Well, he did, but not _exactly _during the retreat," Zeny told her. "You see, we were just going back to the camp we had set up after the slaughter of the army when that happened. We had gone under the canvas tent we had made with two trees and—well, canvas, when we heard the sound of hoofbeats.

"Now, we had just thought that it was a group of cyber antelope making their rounds, so we didn't worry at the time. But we should have been more suspicious, because just as we were drifting off to sleep a blur of hooves rushed by us. I yelped in surprise and jumped up, just as I heard a horrified scream that sounded a lot like Codebird's, then the scream of 'No! Not you!' (this voice also sounded like his). This startled Matthew and Jacqueline, who grabbed me by the shoulders and demanded to know where the noise had come from.

"I told them everything that I'd seen for the most part, and as I finished Matthew groaned and put his head down. Jacqueline asked him why in cyberspace he was doing that, and he informed us that if I saw what I think I had, then Codebird was for sure a goner."

"But how did you know for sure that he was dead? You said that Machinos had either killed OR enslaved him," Inez pointed out.

"Well, you see, when Machinos kidnaps something, he usually is merciless with it. He likes to toy around with it for a while, as a cat does to a mouse, then he slowly and steadily lowers the claw…then SLASH! And that's it. It's all over for the unsuspecting being."

Inez shuddered. Zeny noted this, then said, "Which was why we thought that Codebird had died. We decided to make a little cross for him in that spot where we had camped, then Matthew took off his bandana—you know, the tan colored rope we have tied around our foreheads—and wrapped it around the cross. We then said a few kind words and left. Codebird was our only friend left in the Fatherboard army. It was a highly traumatic experience to lose him."

"Yeah…" Inez felt tears coming to her eyes again, but this time she didn't care. "Digit was one of our closest friends in cyberspace, besides Motherboard and Dr. Marbles. He was almost always there when we needed him…except that one time in Poddleville…"

She sniffed, then said, "They could've taken anyone but him. We needed him. They could've taken Matt for all I care…"

"Yeah, I know," Zeny sighed. She slipped off the rock, then splashed into the water and started heading out towards the exterior of the waterfall. "Well, come on. We have to go find Jackie and inform the others that we have to get out farther."

"Why that?" Inez asked, wiping her eyes on her shirtsleeve.

"Because," Zeny said, "If Machinos has already killed Digit, no doubt he's going to go for us next. We can't afford to lose another one of you. We need to get out of this area. If the General knows the forests as well as we do, he knows that this is one of the safest places. And once he comes for us, it will no longer be the same again."

Inez nodded, then got down from the rock and caught up with Zeny. They then passed through the waterfall again, without so much as a single word…


	9. Unsafe captive

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter IX: "Unsafe captive"

Digit awoke from his sleep early the next morning. He found himself lying on a burlap sack strewn out on the hard, dusty ground in the mineshaft; the others were already up, he could tell, for he heard the noise down in the mine itself. He yawned, then slowly got up, trying not to pain his leg.

It didn't hurt as much now after Codebird had got him something to bandage it up, seeing that Machinos had been too heartless to do so. The recovery had actually been quite simple: Hemaropa had carried Digit down into the mine, laid him out on the burlap sack, then Codebird, of course, ripped a few bandages off of Rahm (Rahm hadn't been too happy with this), dipped them in the mud that was caused by the dripping in the shaft, then wrapped the bandages around his leg. Codebird had then told him to rest while they went back to work, until morning.

Now he got up, stretched his wings, shook the dust off of himself, and trotted out into the mine. It was damp, dark, and old, and gave off the faint smell of kerosene; maybe that was because of the old lamps strung up near the so-called "ceiling". Hemaropa, Rahm, and Codebird were working near the back of the mine, he could see, and he saw a lot of others in the mine as well, some who looked vaguely familiar. 

He shook his head, then walked along the rusted railroad tracks lining the mine to where Codebird, Rahm, and Hemaropa where. Hemaropa and Rahm had proper mining tools, but Codebird didn't need them; he was using his beak as a drill to bore through the rock. He looked up, however, when Digit came in. "Morning, Digit!"

"Morning," Digit replied. He looked at the rock that Codebird was drilling through, then said, "Uh…what exactly are we looking for here?"

"Gold," was Codebird's simple reply. He took his beak out of the rock, then put his wing in and started to feel around, as if looking for something. "Machinos can't get enough of it. He uses it to coat his swords…also for his and the Dark Riders' teeth."

Digit looked both confused and surprised. "Their _teeth_?"

Rahm nodded. "They're always getting their teeth knocked out in fights. Why, a few years ago a kid called Matthew made a mockery of them and made the teeth into a necklace. Ah, Matthew...the boy that does too much, we often call him."

Digit perked up when he heard the name "Matthew" and said, "Hey! That's the kid who helped save us from the Dark Riders...well, I would say twice, except that I fell off before we could get away completely..."

"Is that how the General caught you?" Codebird asked, finding that nothing was there and sticking his beak into the hole again. 

"Yeah," Digit said, nodding. "I fell off the horse and landed hard on my leg. That's how I broke it." He looked around again, then said, "Hey, a lot of people in these mines look familiar."

"That's probably because you've known them from somewhere before," Hemaropa replied. "You said earlier that you came from another world…"

"Yeah. You see, me and my friends got sucked up into a portal about two days ago and ended up here—" he suddenly realized and clapped his wing to his beak, muttering, "Wuh-oh…"

Rahm stroked his bandage-covered beard. "A portal, you say?"

"A portal?" Codebird's eyes were wider than Digit had ever seen them before, although he'd only seen him in full view twice. "Do you mean the Portal of Forty?"

Digit, knowing that he wasn't supposed to even hint to them in the first place, much less tell them, blushed and started sputtering, "Uh—you see—about that portal—uh—it's not real. We were…out in cyberspace when—this—portal appeared and we were accidentally sucked in, then we were spit back out here and—"

"So it was the Portal of Forty," Codebird said, sounding cross.

"No, that's not what I—"

"There can't be any other explanation, Digit," Hemaropa said to him, brushing her hair out of her eyes as she spoke. "After Fatherboard was destroyed, all the portals were cut off, remember?"

Digit tried his hardest to think of something to say, but all he could do at the time was make a snappy comeback. "I knew that; I was just testing you!" he said, sheepishly.

"Right," Codebird said blandly; then he once again pulled his beak out and started feeling around again. "Darn it, I can't find anything! Machinos will be furious if he finds that I'm slacking!"

"What do you mean by that? You're working as hard as you always should," Digit said, attempting to drill a hole in the cave wall with his beak himself. "That's not what I'd call slacking."

"That's not how Machinos sees it," Codebird replied. 

"What do you mean by that?" Digit asked. He started to drill the hole but, as always, his body spun around and he fell back three feet. He straightened his beak again as Codebird explained:

"You see, Machinos built this mine because he knew that there were riches and other various items down here. He expects by law that every slave should have at least five valuable items retrieved from the mines by noon, and another five by sundown."

Hemaropa continued. "A slave is given three chances to prove that he's worthy enough to remain alive. The first time he falls weak, Machinos whips him. The second time, Machinos cuts him, and the third time is the final strike. You don't even _want _to know what he does then."

Digit gulped, then said, "But how does he know that we're…uh, slacking?"

"He has his ways," Rahm replied. He tugged what looked like a gold nugget out of its rock bed and tossed it down on the dusty ground near his feet. When he saw that Digit had a look of incredible curiosity on his face, he sighed, then pointed over in the direction where he had tossed the nugget and scoffed, "Such as _him_, for example."

Digit blinked, then looked over in the direction where Rahm had pointed. He then nearly leapt backward in surprise, for standing there, right next to a mining cart, his arms crossed, was a man that looked exactly like Hacker. He was wearing a white Roman style outfit, with a brown leather belt tied around his waist; black sandals were also on his feet as well; he also carried a chain whip in one hand. A serious look was set on his face, and he was covered in coal dust from the mine. Digit could tell for sure now that this was the alternate Hacker.

When Codebird noticed that Digit hadn't answered, he continued, "He's Machinos's substitute flogger. When we violate something, he's the one who whips us when Machinos isn't around."

Digit laughed. "Ha, that's the funniest thing! Where I come from—" he looked at them, then cleared his throat and said, "Which is from…across cyberspace, Hacker is an evil genius who wants to take over cyberspace!"

Codebird looked at him strangely. "Really? I thought all the competition was eliminated after Machinos's attack on Solaria."

Digit smacked his face; he had obviously given himself away again, then said, once more, "Uh, that's right! Um…I was testing you again, yeah, that's what!"

Codebird cocked an eyebrow, then shrugged and was about to stick his beak back into the rock to drill a different hole when he and Digit suddenly heard two familiar voices from across the mine:

"An emerald? That's a diamond, you goat-headed fool!"

"It is not, you fool-headed goat! It's an emerald! A diamond isn't green!"

Of course, Digit knew those voices anywhere. Turning around, he saw, sure enough, the two alternate Satyrs from Mt. Olympus…well, what was left of it, anyway. They didn't look any different from the ones he knew back home, except that they seemed dustier. They were covered with black soot from the mines, as was everyone else.

In all his time at the mine, Digit had never been gladder to see them. Dropping the diamond that he had got out of the hole, he limped over to where they were standing and cleared his throat abruptly to get their attention.

"WHAT!" the two asked angrily, turning on him.

Digit flinched a bit at this, then said, in a half-shaky tone, "Uh—sorry. M-my name is Digit, and I'm new to this place."

The taller one stopped glowering and said, "Well, why didn't you say so?" He held out his hand. "The name's Neb, and the shorty here next to me is Nep."

"Who are you calling shorty?" Nep snapped at him, his arms crossed.

Neb refused to reply, and simply looked up toward the ceiling. Digit shuffled his good foot across the floor, then said, finally thinking of a question that sounded important, "Well, I have a question…what was your dimension like before Machinos was created?"

Neb and Nep gave him a dark look, as if they were angry that he ever brought up the subject, then Nep finally sighed and said, "Okay, bird, it goes like this. Before the Dark Age of cyberspace, everything was perfect. Every cybersite was at peace with the other. We lived in perfect harmony. No one was ever at war with one another—"

"Until the day Machinos was created," Neb put in. "A scientist near that old windmill area decided to create a new type of robot—one that wouldn't fall in the face of destruction; one that would stand…an invincible type. He was successful in his building, but as soon as Machinos was programmed he immediately turned on him. He attacked as forcefully as possible, splattering blood and flesh everywhere." 

He shuddered at the thought of this, then continued, "Before the scientist met his fate, however, he managed to grab a scalpel from a nearby table and slice one of Machinos's eyes out of its socket. Doubled over in pain, he let out a horrified shriek and clutched his eye, then, overcome with rage, finally killed the scientist with his bare hands."

Digit shuddered at the thought as well, as Nep continued, "As soon as Machinos saw truly what he had done, he just stood there, looking at the blood that covered the walls. At first he was shocked, then, when he looked at his eye, still thrashing around on the floor, he wasn't ashamed at all. He came to the conclusion that he had liked what he did, and thus left the windmill—vowing never to return again on account of that memory—and quickly rose to Lord Machinos. He attacked every cybersite known to any cyberspace citizen, one at a time. He had arranged an army of 'Dark Riders', and his elder 'brother', the General, had agreed to join him on his quest to kill."

Digit's eyes grew wide. Codebird, curious of what they were saying to him, had walked over to their area as well, and was listening to what they had said. He too knew the legend of Machinos, and the others looked up at him as he put in, "Yeah. The harmony was shattered that very day he killed Fatherboard." A tear came to his eye as he wiped it away and said sadly, "I remember that day…so well…"

"We all do, Codebird," Neb said, "We all do."

The four were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a door bursting open. Knowing at once whom this was, the three—Neb, Nep, and Codebird—stood up straight to attention. Digit was about to ask them why they had done this, but he sooner or later found out why.

He flinched, then stood up as straight as possible as the dark shadow of Machinos loomed over the walls. He entered the mine, his visible eye looking at the slaves on either side of him, the General—riding crop still in hand—trotting behind. He finally stopped in front of them and, with a swish of his cape, said, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "You…"

Digit shook; he thought that Machinos meant him, but sooner or later found out that Machinos was staring _past _him. Turning around, he saw another slave—whom he didn't recognize—backed up against the wall. He was trying to hide himself behind the four, but his heavy, terrified breathing had obviously given him away.

"Come forward," Machinos said, in a voice so cold Digit flinched once more.

The slave tried to back up some more, but he was already backed up as far as he could go. Shaking with fright, he tried to shake his head, but he appeared too frightened to turn it. Machinos cocked his eyebrow, then looked at the four in front of him—which, of course, included Digit—and said, "Step aside."

Digit, not wanting to anger Machinos even more, quickly limped to the side, with Codebird following. The rest of the slaves backed up as Machinos stopped in front of the one backed up against the wall, then said, mockingly, "Well, if it isn't the slave who was reported to be slacking on the job."

"N-no, s-sire," the slave replied, shaking his head quickly. "I w-would n-never slack—"

"Then let me see your findings," Machinos replied coolly.

The slaves eyes darted to one side, then to the other, then he finally gulped and, sweating like a pig, looked back up into Machinos's stone-cold eye and said, "I-I didn't h-have the t-time—"

"Liar!" snapped Machinos. "You only have nothing because you weren't working!"

"I—"

"This is your _third_ violation, you pathetic weakling," Machinos said angrily. He reached near the side of his belt, where his sword was lanced, and started to pull it out. "I tried to be nice, but you leave me no choice."

"No, no! Not that, Machinos! You can whip me, I don't mind! You can take everything I own! Please, just please! No! NO!"

Machinos ignored his pleas and raised the gleaming blade above his head, then brought it down point first with great force and, with a loud _SPLORCH _sound, drove it into the slave's chest. The slave gasped as blood splattered everywhere, then started to pant hoarsely as Machinos held the blade in place, a straight look on his face, as if he were a statue. 

Finally, after several tense seconds, the slave's eyes rolled back and he collapsed, stone dead, of course. Machinos looked at him, then twisted the blade sideways and pulled it free of the slave's bleeding chest. The slave fell to the ground as a pool of blood started to form around him, his eyes white and blood dripping from his mouth. 

Digit could only stare in horror at the sight before him. He made several choking noises, as if trying to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. He started panting as he shook with fright; Codebird had to grab him by the shoulders to keep him from screaming.

Machinos smiled, then lanced the sword back into his belt. He then said to the other slaves, "Unless you want to meet the same fate that this unlucky man did, I suggest that you get to work at once. If you're caught slacking again, you know, of course, that my gouter is much less sympathetic than I."

He nodded toward the alternate Hacker, who grinned menacingly and tightened the chain whip between his hands. Turning back to the slaves, he continued, "Remember, your fate rests on your work. Let us go, General."

He turned around, then started to walk back down the hallway. The General shot the slaves an angry glare, then trotted off after Machinos. The alternate Hacker looked at them, then snapped, "Alright, get back to work, you lazy mugs!"

Late that night, Digit was lying awake on his cot, the vision of what he had seen done with the unlucky slave earlier that day flashing through his mind. He shivered as he thought of this; if that was what happened after three violations, he didn't know if this place was safe anymore.

Rolling over on his side, he wrapped his wings around his chest, then started to shiver again. He knew that he could be klutzy at times, and also a smart aleck. He was sure that Machinos didn't tolerate people—or cybirds, for that matter—like that, and if he remained here he would get three violations—along with the blade through his chest—faster than he could find the time to say something. He didn't want that to happen. He still had to get back to the kids and their alternates…and, after that, try and find a way to get back to Dr. Marbles and Motherboard…

Finally unable to take it anymore, he sat up, then slowly crawled on his stomach over to where Codebird was lying. Reaching out, he gently shook his alternate and said, in his quietest tone possible, "Codebird! Wake up!"

Codebird stirred, then groaned and opened one eye. "Ugh…Digit, what is it now?"

"We have to get out of here," Digit replied. "I'm starting to feel that this place is unsafe. I mean, after what happened with that slave…"

Codebird turned over and muttered, "Aw, Digit, that happens all the time. I've seen the blood splatter much more than you have, and I can tell you, it's happened a lot. Machinos is merciless."

"But Codebird, if we make three—just three—violations, he'll kill us. Nothing will be able to save us; not pleas for mercy, not calls for help, not even our friends!" He thought a moment, then said, "By the way, I'm just curious…how many violations have you gotten since you came here?"

At the mention of this, Codebird's eyes popped open and he immediately sat up on the cot. His voice shook as he said, "T-two."

"Which means if you get one more violation, he'll kill you," Digit said.

"You're absolutely right, Digit," Codebird said, standing up. "We have to escape from here. It's our only chance for survival unless we somehow become perfect, which is probably not going to happen."

Digit nodded. "But how do we get out without the guards—or Machinos, for that matter—spotting us?"

"Don't worry about it," Codebird said. "I've been around the grounds a lot while retrieving things. I know every inch of the grounds. Trust me, tonight, we'll have our freedom…"

But in his mind, he was thinking, terrified, _I hope, I hope…_


	10. Assistance from a stranger

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter X: "Assistance from a stranger"

It was about 1:00 a.m. on the grounds of Machinos. Everything appeared to be silent in the hallways, except for the faint _creeeaaaak_ sound that the door made as Digit and Codebird slowly pushed it open. They winced slightly; with all the silence in the hall it was hard not to hear the sound, but no one came down the halls to check it out. Nothing stirred. It was completely still…and dead.

Codebird sighed with relief, then turned towards Digit, who was standing on the stairs behind him, and whispered, in his quietest tone, "The coast is clear, Digit. Let's go."

"I can't believe that Machinos was unnoticing enough to leave the door unlocked," Digit whispered happily. "It'll make the escape much more easier."

"Yeah, but remember, we still have to get outside the grounds," Codebird pointed out. "The Dark Riders have that place nearly surrounded. What's more, they're equipped with guns."

Digit's eyes grew wide again. "G-g-guns?" he stuttered.

Codebird nodded. "Every Dark Rider stationed to guard the grounds has them. They're rare to come by," he continued, noticing the look on Digit's face, "There's only about—what, now, fifty in the area?"

"But I thought—"

"Yeah, I know. They use swords to fight because they appear to be more powerful than guns. Besides, Machinos doesn't want anyone to know about their uses. He wants them as one of those 'surprise weapons'."

"That's not good."

"Tell me about it." Codebird looked down the hall to the left, then to the right, then to the left, then perked up, as if listening for something. Finally, he gave a slow sigh of relief and said, turning to Digit, "They aren't here at the moment, though, so sneaking out of the main fortress should be easy."

"I hope you're as sure as you sound," Digit told him warningly, following him as they started to walk down the hall, taking silent steps. "Or else we'll be dead."

"Do you think I don't know that!" Codebird snapped at him. He then clamped his wing over his mouth, realizing that he had been a little too loud, his eyes darting in all directions, as if he was expecting a guard to come and grab them any second. Finally, he stopped and sighed with relief. "I don't think they hear us…"

"Great," Digit sighed. He looked down the hallway. "Now…which way do we go to get out of this nightmare?"

Codebird looked around, until his gaze met the right turn in the hallway. Making a gesture with his wing, he whispered, "We go this way. Come on."

He then started to carefully walk down the hallway, taking light steps as so not to provide an echo for anyone else in the hallway besides them to hear. Digit slowly stepped after him, being just as careful, until they reached the curve. Codebird immediately flattened against the wall; Digit did the same.

"Why are we doing this?" he asked, puzzled. "There aren't any—"

"Shush!" Codebird hissed, clamping his wing over Digit's mouth and looking down the hallway. Digit looked at him oddly; Codebird turned to look back at him and saw this look. "Sorry, I'm just a bit paranoid…you know, what with the violations and all…I mean, if any one of the guards or Machinos himself catches us out of the mines, I'll probably be—"

"Stabbed?" Digit guessed after Codebird slowly removed his wing from his mouth, letting it flop limply to his side.

Codebird gave a weak laugh. "Oh, I'll be _worse_ than stabbed," he said, "And what's more, you'll be there with me at the execution."

"What do you mean by that?" Digit asked uneasily, cocking his eyebrow.

Codebird removed himself from the wall and cautiously started to walk down the hall again, taking care not to make his footsteps heard; Digit took one look at him and followed suite. After a few moments, Codebird finally turned to face Digit in order to answer his question.

"What I mean is, I won't be stabbed to be put to death," he replied, a trace of worry in his voice. "I saw a slave who dared to venture out of the mines one time. He was this close to escaping—" Codebird held up his wings so that they were about eight inches apart from each other—"One of the Dark Riders spotted him, and grabbed him. He then reported to Machinos sometime later, and shortly after that the scent of burning flesh had filled our nostrils. It didn't take us long to find out that the daring slave had been hung from a tree and burnt to death shortly after."

"Ugh," Digit said in disgust, trying his best to picture this horrible ordeal.

"Yeah, and that wasn't the worst of it," Codebird said, sounding just as disgusted as Digit was. "After every last gigabyte of him was burnt away, they used his ashes to feed the man-eating plants in the back of the grounds…near the tenth tower, I think."

"Okay, _that's_ just gross."

"Tell me about it…" Codebird looked back down the hallway to make sure that the coast was still as clear as it had been before, then turned back to look at Digit. "The same thing will happen to us if Machinos, the General, or any one of the guards catch us standing here. You may not have gotten any violations yet, but that's not how Machinos sees it when he catches a slave outside the mines. I mean, it's like it doesn't even—"

"Well, well, well…hello, _Codebird_."

"Hi," Codebird replied quickly, not thinking about what he was saying, then suddenly realized that it wasn't Digit who was speaking to him. The voice had an evil air to it, not to mention that it was cold as ice and sounded incredibly sarcastic.

A shiver ran up his spine as he finally pieced together whom the voice belonged to. He didn't want to turn around, but he found himself doing so anyway, along with Digit turning his head up; this was the last thing they wanted at the time, but they couldn't control their actions at the time, either. When they at last turned completely, they found themselves staring at Machinos, who did not look at all pleased. His arms were crossed over his chest, and an annoyed glare was set on his face.

"Isn't it a little _late_ for you to be taking a walk?" Machinos replied in a cold tone, cocking his eyebrow.

Codebird could only stutter for a few seconds, then finally managed to say, "Uh—M-Machinos, Sire—"

"_Don't_ 'Machinos Sire' me!" Machinos snapped coldly, looking the terrified bird straight in the eye and causing him to tremble intensely. "You know that you're not supposed to be outside the mines unless you're in _chains_, you brainless turkey!"

Codebird was insulted, but he wasn't about to say that to Machinos, who was much more powerful than he was. Instead, he merely stuttered, "I—I—"

"You what!" Machinos said, sounding peeved. "Wanted to give me a good reason for why you're out here? Well, it's too late for that. You had one more chance—" he clenched his hand into a fist, then swiftly brought it down to his side—"And you've violated it. I thought you knew better, Codebird, seeing how you always used to hang out with those stupid children. I suppose I was wrong about that, wasn't I?"

Codebird said nothing, but continued to stare up in fear at Machinos. He knew that he could argue with him no longer, and was now left completely defenseless, save his stuttering. Machinos glared at him, then grabbed him by the back of the neck and lifted him up, so that the two were face to face, which was the last thing Codebird wanted next to execution. He shook violently; Digit was staring up at them with a mixed look of shock and horror on his face, not sure what was coming yet. He at first hoped that Machinos would let Codebird go, but he quickly shook it off; that was like asking a starving tiger to let go of its prey.

After a moment of Machinos glaring at Codebird, Machinos finally turned his head to one side to see the General coming down the other side of the hallway. He was covered in grass stains, not to mention mud; Codebird and Digit guessed that he had been at some type of field event with the Dark Riders, who were still out on the grounds. He turned his gaze towards Machinos as soon as he saw him.

"Oh! Good evening, Sire!" he said quickly, taking a few seconds to lightly bow to him. As he raised himself up once more, he caught a glimpse of Codebird and Digit. Cocking his eyebrow, he asked, in a tone of great disgust, as if they were pond scum, "What are '_dey_ doin' in 'da hall?"

"I was just about to get to that, General," Machinos replied calmly, smirking at him. The General returned the smirk; he obviously knew what Machinos was thinking as he did this. "It turns out that this is Mr. Codebird's third violation. What's more, I caught him and his insolent look-alike—" he gestured towards Digit—"outside the mines."

"Wonderful," the General said, threateningly cracking his knuckles. "How would you like to dispose of 'dem, Sire?"

Machinos thought for a moment, then said coolly, "A chance like this only comes by every so often, General. Usually I always end up stabbing them through the chest…we haven't had any of the fools go outside the mines since that one day we burnt that slave at the public hanging…"

"So, what do you suggest we do?"

"Well, shooting them dead would be too common, and it's not nearly as gruesome as what we did last time…thus, I'm making a new suggestion." He stared up at the ceiling in silence for a moment, then turned down so his gaze once again met the General's. "I want them beheaded."

Digit and Codebird's mouths both dropped open. Although they didn't know much about big words, they knew exactly what "beheaded" meant. The thought of both their heads separating from their bodies with one blow of an axe was too gruesome to imagine.

They now looked at the two as the General grinned and nodded. "When do you want the execution?" he asked Machinos.

"At the crack of dawn," Machinos replied, throwing Codebird to the ground. "In the meantime, I want you to keep them contained; they are _not_ going to try anything smart around me. Lock them in the titanium dungeon until I give the order to release them…of course, it won't be any better for them." He laughed coldly after he said this.

"It's as good as done, Machinos," the General replied. He walked over to the two terrified cybirds and grabbed each of them around the neck; the two didn't bother struggling, they were much too terrified by Machinos's order to even move. He then jerked them violently, causing the two cybirds to fall backward and strike the floor almost headfirst.

"I'll inform the executioner of the task," Machinos told him, "Although I would enjoy carrying it out myself, it just doesn't seem _official_ then, you know?"

The General briefly nodded, then started to drag Digit and Codebird off down the hallway. Machinos shot them an evil glare, then whipped around, his back to them, and walked off down the hallway in the opposite direction. Codebird and Digit could only watch helplessly as they were dragged farther and farther away from the safety of the mines…

The General roughly continued to drag the two down a cold, hard, damp set of stairs into a dimly lit room; the only source of light were the torches lining the walls. The walls, in fact, were carved from the stone that had been underground at the time it was built, and it was still continuing to drip water onto the floor. However, that wasn't the worst of it; as they drew closer to the cage they were to be contained in, they saw that the bones of prisoners who had been contained in the mine long before them littering the floor as well.

As soon as the General approached a heavy iron cage, he let go of their necks for a brief moment to call a figure over to him; they knew not who it was, for the General had only called the figure, who had been bathed in the shadows the entire time, with a shrill whistle, and the figure remained in the shadows as a green, fur-covered paw reached out and placed a rusty silver key in the General's gloved hand. The General gave it a quick smile, then the paw drew back into the shadows as the General placed the key in the lock. 

The door sooner or later clicked and swung open on its rusty hinges with a faint _CREAAK_ sound. The General then resumed to grabbing the two birds, but shortly afterwards threw them both into the bone-littered cage with tremendous force. They struck the floor hard and rolled across; however, they dared not to give in to the General's pleasure of hearing them yelp in pain.

They got up just in time to see the General slam the door shut; he then placed his hands on the bars. "You'll be contained here until dawn," he told them smugly, sounding greatly pleased with himself. "While I've seen many suffer in here in my past years, the real fun will begin tomorrow. Until 'den…I shall see you another time."

He then turned around and started to walk back up the stairs. Codebird pressed his head against the bars and growled angrily as he left, then slumped back down on the floor, looking defeated. Digit felt the exact same way; if the cage was titanium, there was no possible way for them to break out. 

"What do we do now?" Codebird asked him helplessly. "We're trapped…and we can't look forward to tomorrow for another chance, either. The last thing we're going to see in the new day is an axe connecting with our necks!" He made a quiet noise; Digit identified it as a sob. "And there's no way out…there's no way to escape…"

"This is partly my fault," Digit confessed, putting his wing to his chest. "I should've never talked you into the idea of us trying to break out of here. I was just terrified of the scene with that slave…"

"I don't blame you, Digit," Codebird replied sadly. "If I were you, I would've been just as terrified…but I wouldn't have been as terrified as I am right now."

"I know…" Digit sighed, looking out one of the tightly barred windows at the darkened sky. "I know. If I had to pick one fear, just one, it would be the fear of death. The fear of a quick and painful death.

"But I don't get it," Digit continued, getting to his feet. "I mean, we were so cautious in the hall…why was Machinos able to spot us in total blackness, and how on earth was he able to sneak up on us like that when we heard nothing? He was right behind you when he spoke."

"The scanner," Codebird replied quietly, his gaze never leaving the floor.

"The what?" Digit asked, cocking his eyebrow.

"The scanner," Codebird repeated, turning his gaze up to meet Digit's. "When Nep and Neb told you the story of Machinos's creation, they left out one tiny detail about what happened after his eye was sliced out."

"What?" Digit asked curiously.

"Well, after Machinos lost his eye, he covered up the gruesome sight with a glass monocle," Codebird explained. "However, that monocle isn't made of regular glass. I don't know why, exactly, but it has a microchip inserted into it…it can give its wearer perfect eyesight, even if its vision is beyond cure, and what's more, it can scan objects _and_ also gives the owner night vision."

Digit's eyes widened. "So you're saying that Machinos can see us in the dark, _and_ he was able to scan us as well?"

"Correct." Codebird nodded his head. "That's how Machinos knows just the right spot to stab people when he kills—that scanner can detect weak spots. I've seen him take down creatures five times larger than him with the help of that scanner."

"Whoa," Digit said, impressed. "And I just thought that he was making predictions the entire time…"

"He sometimes does."

Digit was about to open his mouth to say something when he realized that it wasn't Codebird who had spoken. Closing his mouth quickly, he looked around, but saw nothing. He then said, in a slightly nervous tone, "Who's there?"

"Nothing to be afraid of, birdie. I'm just here because the keys are here."

"Uh-huh…but who are you?"

"I'm not a very important figure…I'm simply the key-keeper. Disgusting job, really it is…"

Digit nodded. "Um…and who are you, exactly? Do you think you'd be so kind as to actually show yourself?"

There was no response from the voice for a second, then they heard the sound of something scratching into the stone on the floor. They then heard the voice reply, "Yeah, sure. I've been meaning to get out of here before moss starts to form on my side."

They then heard the sound of footsteps, accompanied by the sound of clanking metal, then after a few moments a bright green paw emerged from the shadows. This was followed by the front of the creature, now recognized as a green cat. A bright green cat with a yellow underside and red eyes…

"Hey, I know you!" Digit said, then quickly clapped his wing over his mouth, not wanting to tell anyone else about the Portal of Forty. He merely shook his head as the cat sat down in front of them, then took out a rather rusty nail file and began to rub her claws against it.

"Honestly, with a job as lowly as this my name doesn't matter," the cat replied, continuing to file her claws, "But if you truly want to know, my name is Binky…though sometimes the others call me Binx."

Digit merely smiled and nodded; he knew that in his world, Binky, or so she was called, was left in charge of the Egyptian pyramids after Rahm had been destroyed. Digit had actually been the one that had carried out the task, but Binky was unfazed—she had actually helped them get the Encryptor Chip out of Hacker's clutches shortly after that. If the Binky in his world had done that in her past, he knew that he could trust her alternate.

"So…um, I was wondering if you could…help us…out of here…" Digit tried to make an attempt to sound hopeful, but this gradually faded away as he continued to speak. Finally he sighed and put his wing to his face.

Binky tilted her head and cocked her eyebrow slightly, then put the nail file away and turned her gaze up so that her eyes were locked directly onto his. Digit almost cowered back in fear, but then slapped his face, screaming inside his head, _No, Digit, you idiot! Her original did a good deed for you! You have to trust her! You have to trust her…!_

"Although it would be violating every law for the occupation of key-keeper on the grounds of Machinos…" She sighed, then reached for the set of keys that were dangling around her neck like a necklace. "I really don't want to see another death. To be honest, I can't stand it…the people did nothing and before they can explain why they had violated a certain law—SLASH! And before you know it, it's all over."

She removed the keys from her neck as Digit said, "Yeah, but, we're not going to be stabbed…we were caught outside the grounds…uh, mines, so Machinos decided on beheading us."

"Ugh! Even worse," Binky replied, fingering through the numerous array of keys. "The last thing I want to see in the morning is a head being disconnected from its shoulders. I'll probably be at the execution as well, if this doesn't go through…I'll have to witness it first hand, and why? Because I control every freakin' key in this whole place!"

She stopped hastily as she finally found the key that she was looking for in the vast array…a rusty silver key, the exact same one that she had handed to the General to lock them up earlier. She now placed the key in the lock, and, turning her head cautiously toward the stairs to make sure that no one was coming, and twisted it to one side. 

They heard the door click, then the green cat pulled it open partway, as so not to make the creaking noise they had heard before. She then quickly made a gesture with her paw, ushering them out of the door, and closed it gently as the two exited the horrid cell. She then looked up toward the stairs again, as if expecting Machinos or the General to come down any second, then turned her gaze toward the two cybirds adjacent to her.

"Machinos will find out you're gone sooner or later," she warned them, "So I suggest that you get out now. I'll try and cover for you as long as possible, but if Machinos forces me to tell him I can't make any promises."

"Well, we can't go back up the stairs, Machinos is sure to find us," Codebird told her. "And the windows down here are all barred. So what other options are there?"

Binky grinned, showing most of her teeth, which were white and uncomfortably sharp. "Do you think that you're the only ones I've decided to save? I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve…" She turned around and got down on all fours, then made a gesture with her front paw. "Follow me."

Digit and Codebird stared at each other for a moment while they considered. Was it right to trust her? After all, she was a worker of Machinos, and Digit knew that even though her original had helped them once, she could still be a pretty good actor. On the other hand, if they chose not to trust her and it turned out that she _could_ be trusted, the only thing that they had to look forward to was their deaths in the early morning.

Finally Codebird sighed and turned in the direction that she was facing in; Digit did the same. Binky smiled, then shot off into the shadows, with Digit and Codebird following close behind…


	11. Reunion

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XI: "Reunion"

****

Digit and Codebird followed the swift green cat through the long, narrow, dark hallway, every now and then missing a certain twist in the passage and bumping into a wall; they couldn't exactly help it, seeing that they didn't have night vision like Binky did…this sooner or later proved to be a bit of a problem, seeing that it was slowing them down and not to mention making a lot of noise in the process.

"Ow!" Digit yelped as he tripped over yet another loose stone in the floor and landed face-first in the dark, nearly knocking Codebird over in the process. Groaning, he got to his feet—his leg was still paining him—and complained, "Binky, can't you go any slower than that?"

They abruptly stopped hearing the sound of Binky's claws clicking on the stone, then she turned around; they could see her red eyes in the darkness. Finally, she whispered, "I would if I could, but seeing that it's a few hours until dawn I don't think I can take that risk. I want to get you both out of here with your heads still on your shoulders."

"Could you please not mention that?" Digit pleaded, quickly getting to his feet as Binky's claws started to click on the stone yet again. "I mean, I know we're being saved, but it makes me uncomfortable to think about what will happen if this doesn't pull through."

"It will," Binky reassured him. "Trust me, it will."

The two sighed and continued to follow her down the passage for what seemed like forever. Finally, Digit, getting quite impatient, said to Binky, "Oh, for crying out loud! How big is this stupid dungeon!"

No sooner than had he said this, Binky whipped around and clapped her paw over his mouth. Digit made a startled noise and almost fell backward as Binky hissed, "Keep it at a safe volume, okay?"

"Sorry," Digit said apologetically, his voice muffled by Binky's paw.

Binky sighed, then removed her paw from Digit's mouth and started off again. Finally she stopped; Codebird and Digit stopped behind her, once again nearly knocking each other over as they did so. Their eyes were starting to become used to the darkness, now, and there was a window (barred, of course) nearby, so the moon cast a dim glow on everything. They could see Binky's shadow perfectly now, along with her glowing, firey-red eyes; she was pressed up against what looked like a stone wall, crumbling with age and covered with moss.

"What's this?" Codebird asked, eyeing the wall with great curiosity.

"It looks like a dead end," Digit said, his voice becoming more disappointed with every word he spoke.

"Oh, great," Codebird scoffed.

Binky gave a quiet laugh, then said, shaking her head, "Not quite, honey. This might look like a solid wall, but in my years here as key-keeper I've discovered that there's a special exit built into here." Noticing that Codebird and Digit still looked confused, she sighed, then said, "Watch and learn."

The two looked at each other in confusion, then turned back to Binky as she started to feel around the wall, standing on her hind legs and pressing her paws onto the wall for balance as she felt. Finally she stopped, smiled and nodded, and got back down on all fours. She then reached up a single paw toward a brick centered in the area where she had stopped, and without further ado pressed it. It sunk in without much trouble, then disappeared entirely after a few tense seconds.

"What was that supposed to do?" Digit asked; he was confused.

"Wait," Binky told him patiently, continuing to stare at the wall. Digit and Codebird looked at each other again, then turned back to look at Binky…just in time to hear an ominous rumbling sound and feeling the ground shake beneath them. Both cybirds yelped and grabbed on to each other in fright, but Binky continued to sit and stare at the wall, her blank stare never leaving her face; her tail twitching slightly every now and then.

Finally the rumbling ceased, and Digit and Codebird slowly let go of each other. Binky glanced at them, then her gaze traveled back to the wall as the bricks lodged into it slowly began to slide apart, making groaning, cracking noises as they did so. Within a few moments, a large, gaping hole, big enough for a normal man to walk through, was plainly visible in the spot where the wall had once been.

Digit and Codebird stared at the hole in awe. Finally, Codebird shook his head and, turning to Binky, said, "Does Machinos know about this secret exit?"

Binky shook her head. "He never went down into the dungeons enough to discover it here. I seem to be the only one who knows anything about it."

"That's a relief," Digit sighed. Then he stopped, thought for a moment, and added, "Say, where exactly does this lead, anyway?"

Binky shrugged her shoulder. "I've never gone to the very end of it to know," she informed them, "but I know that it's pretty long. It should take you safely outside the grounds and possibly a safe distance from the Dark Riders." She looked toward the steps, then quickly added, "But you'd best be quick about it. Day is starting to break, and I'm worried that if Machinos comes down here he'll spot you, and all _three_ of us will face execution. So go! Go!"

She gently nudged them both with her paws. Digit and Codebird looked at her, then at the stairs, and decided that the best thing to do would indeed be to leave now. Quickly coming to their senses, they bolted into the tunnel…only to find out that there was a slight vertical drop from the doorway to the bottom. Falling over each other, they rolled down the mud-coated hill and landed at the bottom, one on top of the other. They looked up just in time to see the wall close behind them.

The two stared up at the wall in the dark for a few moments; finally, Digit heard Codebird break out into relieved laughter. He then felt him get off of him; more cheers of triumph followed. 

"We're out!" Codebird laughed. "We're safe!"

"Yeah," Digit agreed, smiling. He got up was about cheering as well when he suddenly heard a loud _SLAM_ sound from the wall behind them. The two silenced themselves—Codebird had obviously heard it, too—and looked up toward the closed exit, in time to hear Machinos's voice (muffled by the closed wall) screech, in blind rage:

"YOU DID _WHAT_!?"

He then heard Binky's voice, sounding just as calm as it had before:

"I told you, Sire, I lost them. I gave the General the key to lock them up, and he did, indeed, lock them up. I made sure that they were in the cage, and I stood by there for what seemed like forever. I must've dozed off for a moment or two—they might've escaped then, seeing that I was right next to the cell with the keys in reach…"

"You _fell asleep_!?"

"Yes, Sire. If you had to stand next to a cell for hours each night, you would probably fall asleep as well. You can't blame me for trying."

They then heard a long silence, then finally Machinos said, in an icy tone, "You're lying…"

There was another moment of silence before Binky finally replied, "Sire, I can assure you, I'm not lying. I swear to you I lost them."

"How _could_ you lose them?" Machinos hissed. "Even if you did leave the keys within their reach, it would've taken those brain-dead birds hours to find the right key! You are well informed that there are two hundred cells in this dungeon, correct?"

"Yes," was Binky's reply.

"And you know that each cell has a different key to unlock it for such purposes?"

"Yes…"

"So, tell me now, Binky…" Machinos now sounded calm, yet his voice was still as cold as ice, "Tell me how you could lose them within a two-hour time limit."

Binky made no reply. There was a long pause, then finally they heard the crumbling of bricks as Binky was slammed up against the wall that the two had just gone through. Codebird and Digit flinched as Machinos snarled, "I knew it…you're lying, you pathetic feline! And I'll bet you thought you could get away with it, too, huh?"

Once again, Binky made no reply. Machinos made a low growling sound, then loosened his hold on Binky; Digit and Codebird heard her drop to the ground. They then heard—horror of horrors—the sound of a sword being drawn. Obviously Machinos had lost his patience with her and was pulling out his sword to either threaten her or kill her, one of the two. Digit silently hoped that it wasn't the latter he was considering.

"Tell me the truth, Binky," they heard Machinos snarl in fury. "Tell me nothing but it, and remember, don't try anything smart with me. I can see right through you. I _know_ when you're lying to me."

There was a stunned silence for a few moments, then Binky finally replied, her voice slightly shaking, "They…they escaped, Sire…and I helped them…"

"You helped them, eh? You helped two slaves who have been on the premises and were about to be beheaded escape? Were you even thinking of what I would do to you if you did this?"

"I admit, no…"

"Hmph…considering what you've done, Binx, I have half the right to kill you right on the spot—" Digit and Codebird both winced as he said this—"But on the other hand, you've only done this once, and after I'm through with you I'm going to make _sure_ that you never do it again."

"What did he mean by that?" Digit whispered to Codebird.

Codebird gulped, then whispered back to him, "He's going to put her in the torture chamber…"

Digit swallowed hard and looked up at the closed wall, but said nothing. He shook slightly as Codebird placed his wing on his shoulder, then said, in his quietest tone possible, "I think we should leave now, Digit…Binky was forced to rat on us, and I'm afraid of what will happen if Machinos discovers the secret entrance."

Digit turned to look at him, even though it was pitch dark, and nodded his head. The two then turned around and started heading down the tunnel, trying their best to get through it without the horrible ordeal of Machinos discovering the entrance and sending someone in after them. Every now and then they would trip over something, such as a tree root, and even though Digit's leg was still in great pain (especially when he landed on it), the two never stopped to rest once. Even when they were clutching stitches in their sides, they refused to falter. All that mattered now was getting out of this place and going back to the safety and comfort of the kids…

As Digit and Codebird were making their getaway, Machinos and the General were taking care of some business of their own. Apparently everything that the two cybirds had thought happened had happened—Machinos had found Binky at the end of the passage, he had slammed her against the wall in rage, then he had drawn the sword. He was going to kill her for lying to him at first, let alone help the two prisoners escape, but he had decided upon not doing so; after all, some things were even worse than death itself…

"Sire, no!" Binky pleaded as the General grabbed her front paws and roughly brought them behind her back. "You cannot lock me in the torture chamber! I've been serving here for _years_, and I swear to you I—"

"Enough!" Machinos shouted. Binky at once shut her mouth and stared up at the ruthless android; even though her gaze was turned down from his Machinos could see the fear hidden in her eyes. He grinned coldly at the sight of this, then turned his gaze toward the General, who was holding the cat tightly and appeared to be ready for his next command.

Cocking his eyebrow casually, Machinos placed his hands behind his back and looked up toward the dripping ceiling, before commanding to the General: "I want you to lock her in the iron binds, General, and make _sure_ she suffers. In the meantime, the escape of our two prisoners has been most disappointing to me, and I would enjoy doing something about it…"

"What did you have in mind, Sire?" the General asked; Binky let out a pained noise as his grip tightened on her paws.

"I have given this great thought, and I think that the most reasonable explanation would be that if they did, indeed, get out of the grounds, they will be setting out to find those stupid children, along with their look-alikes; after all, they do share a close bond…" He was silent for a moment, then continued, "It's a fine chance that if we manage to find our two prisoners, we'll find the freedom fighters as well. Then…" He grinned menacingly and cracked his knuckles; the General, knowing what he was getting to, returned the menacing expression. Binky gulped, but made no sudden movements.

"We'll finally get what we want," the General replied menacingly.

Machinos nodded. "Although it won't exactly be the way we planned it, it will do nicely…besides, we'll have six more to take care of if we do manage to track them down…"

"Which we will," the General cut him off. "Machinos, Sire, you are one of 'da greatest trackers in this area. You can spot a small wolf from five miles off in our hunting expeditions…we won't have much trouble finding 'da children, I don't think."

"Yes, General, but remember, they aren't like the game we so enjoy hunting," Machinos told him. "These are children. They're sure to put up a good fight against us. For the love of God, they nearly gouged out my other eye once!"

"I know…but you can put up a better fight, Sire, I'm sure of it."

"Your compliment is appreciated, General, but I've gone up against the freedom fighters before. They are not ordinary children…try as I might, I cannot take them down…" His eyes became shadowed as he stared at the General, a dead look on his face. "Or, once this has gone through, _could_ not take them down…"

He looked up toward the barred window as he said, his voice as blank as his stare, "The slaughter of my army has not been forgotten. The hundreds that have been burned to ashes so long ago will be avenged…their blood…_I must have their blood_…"

He then turned toward the General, who was looking at him with a disturbed gaze. The emotion starting to return to his face, he finally said, "Take her into the torture chamber and bind her, and do it well. I don't want anyone else escaping. And right after you take care of that, send out the blind trackers at once…they're sure to find at least one. Once they report, we're to set out…and do what we wanted to do so long ago…"

The General, unsmiling, nodded, then said, "As you wish, Sire…"

Digit and Codebird, out of breath and panting heavily, finally surfaced in the middle of the forest. Dripping with sweat, Digit was glad to finally have escaped the dampness and heat of the cramped tunnel; he easily welcomed the fog surrounding them. Codebird was just as relieved as Digit was to have gotten out, and flopped against a nearby tree to rest.

"Boy, am I glad that's over," Digit said, wiping the sweat from his brow. Turning toward Codebird, he panted and gulped a few times, still trying to catch his breath, then finally said, "So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know," Codebird moaned, slumping against the tree. "We just got away from Machinos; you can cut me some slack!"

"Sorry," Digit apologized, then sighed and tried to slump against the tree next to Codebird. Much to his surprise, he ended up leaning on air, flopping over onto his back rather hard. "Ow! Hey, what gives? There was supposed to be a tree there!"

Codebird glanced over at him in confusion, then sighed and glanced upward. What he saw then was both puzzling and shocking at the same time…where a tree trunk should have been, he found himself staring up at a rather high cross, made out of sticks, most likely; he was leaning against the base. Looking harder through the fog, he then found a small, tan colored piece of cloth tied in a diagonal loop across the top.

Even more puzzled than he had been before, he slowly removed himself from the base of the cross and, reaching out, slowly untied the tan cloth from around it. He then held it in his wings and looked down at it, the wind blowing across his face. It was a bandana…a tan colored bandana…it had been weathered with age and was slightly tattered and dirty, but he could tell that it had once been wrapped around someone's head.

Holding it close to his chest, he looked over at Digit just in time to see him get up from the patch of dead leaves in which he had fallen, brushing the dirt and dust off of himself. Noticing the saddened look on Codebird's face, he cocked his head to one side and asked, "What?"

"Look at this," Codebird ordered him, holding out the bandana. Digit looked at him, then slowly looked down at the bandana. He was completely silent for a moment, then finally sighed and turned his gaze away. Codebird was slightly puzzled, but slowly walked toward him and listened to what he was saying…

"That's…that's a bandana, Codebird," he said quietly. "It's the same kind that the freedom fighters were wearing…well, everyone except Matthew, that is…"

"The freedom fighters?" Codebird repeated. "Do you think…do you think that they're out here somewhere?"

"No," Digit replied, sounding defeated. "I don't think they'll ever try and find us…they thought that you were dead after Machinos kidnapped you…"

"They think I'm dead?" Codebird asked, puzzled.

"Yes. Like I said before, they thought that Machinos killed you…they haven't seen you in such a long time…and we might never find them; this place is so big—"

"Come on, we're heading this way…I can show you the cross that we made for Codebird before we go further off into the forest."

"Do you think we can make a cross for Digit too?"

"Why not…"

Digit and Codebird quickly stood up and listened; sure enough, the voices they had just heard were Jackie's and Matthew's. They looked at each other, then quickly looked back in the direction they had heard the noise. They waited and listened, hoping to hear the voices again, but all remained silent.

"That sounded like Matthew…" Codebird couldn't help sounding a little hopeful as he clutched the bandana tighter to his chest.

"And the other voice was Jackie's, I'm sure of it!" Digit added. "But…do you think it's really them? I've known Delete to do some pretty good voice imitations…I don't see why his alternate isn't just as good."

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about, Digit," Codebird told him, "But I don't see why we can't check it out. I'm not sure about imitations, but if it really is them, we'll finally be able to have a chance of things returning to the way that they were…come on!"

He started running toward the direction of the voices; Digit looked at him for a moment, then quickly followed suite. Even though the fog was thick and the ground was wet and cold, they refused to falter, continuing to run toward the noise…because there could be hope…

Finally, after about five minutes of running, they burst through the fog and happily ran toward the six figures, accompanied by a large silver horse. At the sight of them, the horse whinnied and pawed the ground, and the six figures stared at them in complete and total shock.

Finally, Jackie, who had been seated on Skyrider's back, finally let out a loud scream of glee. Leaping off the horse, she ran towards Digit, who leapt into her arms at once. The two fell over; Jackie was hugging Digit tightly and Digit was happily returning the warm embrace. He then looked up as Inez and Matt ran toward him; they too threw their arms around the cybird.

"Digit!" Jackie said, her voice brimming with happiness as she continued to hug him. "We thought that you were dead…we're so glad you're not—we're so glad—"

"You really had us going there, buddy!" Matt added, as Digit jumped into his arms next. "I mean, really…we honestly thought that we'd never see you again…"

"Yeah," Inez agreed. "But the only thing that matters now is that you're back!"

Meanwhile, Matthew, Jacqueline, and Zeny, who hadn't seen their comrade in the longest time, were welcoming him back with great happiness. Matthew took back his bandana from Codebird, but informed him that he wasn't going to wear it for the principle of the thing. Jacqueline was rubbing his head affectionately, and Zeny had been too happy to do anything but hug him. 

After about five minutes, they finally finished their welcoming and turned to Matthew, who was pocketing his bandana. They watched as he helped Codebird onto Skyrider, then mounted her himself; the others followed.

"What do we do now, Matthew?" Matt asked his alternate.

"I've given this great thought, and I've finally decided what we have to do in order for you to return safely," he informed them. "Remember what I told you about the Portal of Forty striking in random areas in cyberspace, and that its patterns have never changed?"

"Yeah," Matt said, nodding. "So…"

"So I've decided that we're going to set off on an expedition to get you back home."

"What?" Matt was shocked as he finally pieced together what Matthew had in mind. "But—does that mean—you aren't really planning on—"

"Yes, Matt," Matthew told him, staring straight ahead. "Now that Digit and Codebird are back, I've decided to take it to the next level…we're going to find the Portal of Forty, and we won't rest until we've done so."


	12. Riverside

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XII: "Riverside"

"You can't be serious," Jackie said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I mean, you just told us about two days ago that the Portal of Forty strikes randomly, and that no one had figured out its patterns. How are we supposed to find it then, if what you said was true?"

"I never said that no one had figured out its patterns," Matthew told her. "I told you that it strikes randomly all over cyberspace for forty years until it strikes that place again. I also told you that its patterns have never changed."

"But you couldn't possibly have figured out every single spot it strikes in!" Matt said.

"That I haven't," Matthew confessed, "but I do know that one of its spots is somewhere around this forest. I don't know where or when it happens, exactly, but I know it strikes here."

"But this forest is huge," Matt pointed out. "We could cover miles of ground in a day and still end up finding nothing."

"Yes, that is true," Matthew agreed, nodding, "but Zeny, Jacqueline, and I have been wandering around this forest for years while hunting, and I can assure you that I know every path like the back of my hand."

"Okay…" Jackie said, still sounding uneasy about the whole thing.

"Trust us," Matthew told her. "I know that we'll be able to find it."

Jackie didn't reply, but merely sighed and nodded her head, a sign to show that she was in agreement with Matthew's idea but was feeling uneasy about it at the same time. Matthew smiled, then turned Skyrider toward a small clearing. "Alright, then, let's go and find it!"

The kids and Digit weakly smiled, then Skyrider trotted off toward the clearing. As they came closer, they could hear the sound of rushing water…they had come near either a creek or river, no doubt. The smell of misty air came to them as they entered the clearing.

It was a rather nice place to be, actually, now that Machinos wasn't around and that Digit and Codebird had returned to them safely. The grass covering the area was a light green, although you couldn't tell from the shade the trees above them gave off. The gaps between the leaves spotted the area with rays of sunlight, and the exotic plants surrounding the area rustled with even the lightest gust of wind. The eight rode the horse into the center of the clearing, then Skyrider stopped, allowing them to dismount.

"We'll rest here," Matthew informed them, leading Skyrider over to the edge of the clearing. "This area isn't too far from the waterfall or the river, so I don't think that the General is going to find us this time. He's never ventured past the waterfall when it comes to the forest, the coward…"

As Matthew tethered Skyrider to a nearby tree, the kids and Digit looked at the marvelous sight that lay before them as Zeny and Jacqueline walked off to a nearby part of the forest. Inez looked down just in time to see them gathering sticks.

"What are you doing?" she asked them curiously.

Jacqueline looked up from the stick-littered ground to face her. "We're going to be resting here for a while before we set out to find the portal," she informed her as she picked up another stick from the ground and added it to the bundle under her arm. "You can't start a good fire without sticks, you know."

"Oh…" Inez looked a bit humiliated at her not guessing this in the first place. "Okay, then. Need any help?"

"Sure," Jacqueline told her, searching the ground for another good stick. "We need all the help we can get when it comes to stick hunting at this time of year…you can hardly find some good ones with all this stupid grass."

"Alright," Inez said, smiling. She left the other two and Digit and walked over to where Zeny and Jacqueline were standing, and started to feel along the ground for more sticks. As she picked one up and handed it to Jacqueline, a questioning thought came to her head. "What time of year is it here anyway?"

"We don't normally keep track, seeing as we always have to either fight or flee from Machinos and his soldiers," Zeny told her, getting down on her knees along with her to hunt for more sticks. "But I'm supposing that it's early fall or so, seeing as most of the leaves have fallen from the trees in the outer forest and that the grass is still as thick as it was in the summer." She picked up another stick and threw it in the pile adjacent to her.

"Okay, then," Inez said, nodding; that was all that she needed to hear. That was when another question came to mind, seeing the fact that she was hungry…"So, what do you guys eat in this universe?"

"We normally eat what we can kill," Jacqueline said. "Wild birds, deer, bears…at times of starvation we usually eat pine needles. Nasty stuff, but it's better than starving to death, so says Matthew…" She searched the ground for another stick as she added, "but he says a lot of things. Like earlier, when he said that we 'wouldn't rest' until we found the Portal of Forty. And now, here we are gathering sticks to set up a camp!"

She sighed and picked up one last stick, then, shifting the bundle under her arm, ran back to the center of the clearing. Zeny and Inez continued to search the ground for more sticks, until they heard Matthew's voice call, "Alright, that's enough stick gathering, you two! Come back here so we can finish setting up camp!"

The two sighed, then walked back into the clearing, Zeny pausing to pick up the pile of sticks that she had collected. As they reentered, they found Matthew already tying two large, sturdy sticks together in a teepee fashion over a bare patch of ground; he was obviously making some type of fireplace. Jacqueline was standing next to him, her arms crossed in an impatient manner, and Jackie and Matt were sitting on the ground nearby. Skyrider was at the edge of the clearing, grazing on some flowers.

"Ah, you're back," Matthew said as he turned up his head toward the two girls. "Great. I was just about to ask you to do a favor for me…"

"What kind of favor?" Inez asked, cocking her eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing much," Matthew told her, throwing some smaller sticks into the area under the larger sticks. "I was just going to ask you and Zeny to go hunting for me…you know, get some birds or something."

"Well—" Zeny began, but Jacqueline cut her off.

"Are you kidding, Matthew?" she snapped at him. "Zeny is a beginner hunter—an amateur. If you wanted some decent birds for tonight, you should've asked _me_. I'm the best hunter around here anyway…"

"That may be so, Jacqueline," Matthew told her, "But Zeny rarely hunts for us as it is, and what's more, we always hunt in _pairs_ when it comes to the forest. And I want Inez to see more of the sights around here…"

"She's seen enough!" Jacqueline scoffed. "I'm the one going hunting, Matthew, whether you like it or not!" She walked over to Skyrider, who turned up to look at her, as she reached near the horse's head and pulled out a bow and a set of arrows.

Slinging the arrows over her back, she walked back over to Matthew, who wasn't looking very pleased with her behavior; his eyes were half closed in a sign of annoyance and his arms were crossed. She ignored him and walked over to the spot where Jackie and Matt were sitting, then grabbed Jackie by the arm.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Jackie asked her as Jacqueline roughly hauled her to her feet.

"You're coming hunting with me, fashion girl," Jacqueline informed her. "Like Matthew said, we have to hunt in _pairs_." She said this word in a mocking tone and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but why me?" Jackie asked, wrenching her arm out of Jacqueline's grasp. "I am _not_ a good hunter as it is…actually, I've never been hunting in my life…"

"Well, you're about to learn," Jacqueline said; then she turned toward a certain part of the forest. "Come on, Jackie, we've got some hunting to do and we don't have much time to do it!" And with that, she bolted off and vanished in the line of trees. Jackie stared after her for a few moments, then turned her gaze toward the others, who didn't seem to be trying to be keeping her from going after her. She looked toward the trees, then sighed in frustration and ran off into the grove after her alternate…

Binky sighed as she was brought into the torture chamber and chained down, dangling helplessly by her feet along with some of the other prisoners. The rest of them were in the other areas of the torture chamber, possibly having their tongues ripped out, their eyes torn from their sockets, and their joints twisted backwards. She could still hear the screams from behind the doors…and she knew that the exact same thing was to happen to her if she didn't do something soon.

But she knew that it was hopeless. No sooner had she been chained than the General had removed the keys from her neck and tossed them aside, eliminating her chances of escape by key. She groaned; it didn't do her much help in physical comfort either…the metal rings that bound her were starting to dig into her ankles…

She fidgeted slightly, then finally could take it no longer. Her front paws remaining unchained, she thrust herself upward and picked at the chains that bound her, trying to bring the blood flow back to her back paws, but the metal was old, not to mention incredibly rusted. And why shouldn't they have been; they'd been on that wall for over a century, after all…

"Oh, really," she said in frustration as she continued to pick at the metal, sending flakes of rust onto the dripping floor. "You'd think that with such success as Machinos has now, they'd at least think of putting new iron binds in around here…this metal is so weak a child could break free from it…"

These words gave her an idea. Now grinning, she removed her front paws from the bound metal and, without doing so much as stopping to think of the consequences, snapped backwards. Just as she predicted, the binds were weak and, due to the pressure placed on them, creaked and broke in two. The cat fell over backwards and landed on all four feet on the floor below, then, taking some time to steady herself, slowly opened her eyes and looked around cautiously.

Finding that the coast was clear, to her relief, she smiled, then slowly walked over to the door, ignoring the screams of horror and pain that came from the doors that she was leaving behind. Glancing around again, she turned back toward the door and pushed it with her paw, sending it swinging open with a loud _CREEEAAK_.

She winced at this noise, then, noticing that no one had taken any notice in her or the door, slowly slipped out and started walking down the dimly lit hallway, keeping close to the wall as so not to arouse anyone. She was about halfway down when she heard voices coming from behind a door adjacent to her. Curious, as all cats were, she pressed her ear against the wall and listened.

"Sire, I'm not sure 'dat you're feeding 'em enough. They look starved…"

"They _are_ starved, General. I keep them that way so that, when I release them, they don't stop chasing their prey until they find it and kill it, possibly eat it. The last time I sent them out was about three months ago. Isn't that right, Saton?"

Every part of Binky's body then froze, for no sooner had this been said than there was a fit of ferocious barking and growling from behind the door in multiple numbers. She heard the General yelp in surprise, then, when the barking finally died out, Machinos then said, "Good for you…well, worry not, Saton, you and your friends will have something to feast on fairly soon. I suggest that you start searching in the forest for your prey…I'm quite sure that there'll be enough to feed all of you, seeing that it's a group of eight."

Binky heard Saton growl, then Machinos said, most likely to the General, "I want you to bring them out to the outer grounds, General, and then I want you to release them. They're sure to track down our two fugitives, along with their six little friends as well."

"But Sire, if dey're starved, it's a good chance that 'dey'll eat 'em before _we_ get the chance to track 'em down. I thought 'dat we were going to kill 'em…"

"Not so, General. Saton and his pack may be strong, but the Freedom Fighters are stronger when they get the chance to fight. The odds are on their side when the blind trackers finally find them…"

"I don't understand, Sire…"

"Of course you don't; you haven't come face-to-face with the Freedom Fighters enough. You only chase after them on your own when it comes to the windmill…" There was a pause, then he continued, "As long as they're in the right place at the right time, they'll fight, and they'll win. They haven't lost a fight yet…" His voice had gone cold as he said this. "Saton has been ordered to report when he finds them, and we are to set out directly after this."

"Yes, but Sire, what if they kill Saton?"

"They won't. Saton is the strongest and swiftest of all of them; he's sure to avoid their attacks and come back here, and if they do manage to wound him, he'll have enough time to run back and report before he dies."

The General made no response. Machinos then ordered, "Now, take them out through the moat door to the outer grounds and release them at once. Tell them that they seek the Freedom Fighters. They will find their scent and track them down shortly after this."

The General once again made no response, but shortly after this Binky heard the sound of a door within the room being opened, then there were footsteps. When they died out, she removed her ear from the wall at once and bolted down the remainder of the hallway, then rushed up the stairs.

When she was about halfway up, she looked to her side and saw, sure enough, a small window in the side of the wall. She quickly leapt over to the window and pressed herself up against the edge as she looked down at the grounds below her.

Sure enough, she saw the General, along with four or five large shapes, on the grounds. She was too high up to make out any features, but she knew that it was Saton and his pack; what other explanation could there be, concerning the conversation that she had overheard earlier?

She watched as the General yelled something at the five shapes; then they growled and shot off, out of the grounds and across the large field that the grounds were concealed within, heading toward the old windmill. Trembling slightly, she looked down at the moat below her, then sighed, took a deep breath, and threw herself off. She made no noise whatsoever as she plummeted from the tower and splashed headfirst into the moat below…

She then climbed out, coughing and sputtering, and, shaking the water from herself, looked out toward the field, a glare of determination and anger on her face. _I must get out of here_, she thought to herself before she shot off toward the field, closely following Saton's footsteps…

"Can we just _please_ go back now?" Jackie asked her alternate as they trudged through the brush. "We've been walking for, like, hours and you still haven't found anything worth shooting down! Why does it matter anyway?"

Jacqueline stopped looking up at the treetops and turned to look at Jackie. "It matters because we need enough to feed everyone, and considering the size of the birds around here that's a pretty large party!" she snapped. "I need to find the perfect bird, which means it has to be large, strong, and have a lot of meat on—" 

She stopped as she looked up at the treetops, then quickly pulled an arrow out from the pack slung over her back and placed it in the bow. She then aimed it up toward the treetops, pulled it back, and released it in a split second. Jackie looked up as the arrow shot through the air, then struck a passing shape overhead. It squawked loudly, then started to fall.

"Heads up!" Jacqueline called out as the object struck the ground. Looking down, Jackie saw that the arrow had struck a rather large, red bird; the arrow was now lanced through its chest in the most disgusting manner. Jacqueline grinned, then set the bow down on the grass and bent down to look at the bird.

"Oh yeah, this one's perfect," she said triumphantly to herself, then she grabbed the arrow tip and, holding the bird carcass down with one hand, yanked the arrow out of its chest with a loud _SPLORK_ sound. She then snapped the bloodstained arrow in two and stuck the pointed edge back into the bird, which had begun to bleed.

"Ew! What are you doing now?" Jackie asked her, sounding greatly disgusted.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Jacqueline shot back; then she began to slice the arrow into the bird, making a large incision from its chest to its stomach. "I'm going to gut it."

"Ew, ew, ew!" Jackie exclaimed, putting her hand to her mouth. "You mean you're actually going to reach into there and rip out its innards with your _bare hands_? That is just so…ew!"

"Aw, put a lid on it, it won't hurt ya," Jacqueline told her, setting the bloody arrow tip down on the grass next to the bow. She then placed her hands on either side of the large incision and forced them downward, sending the bird's ribcage cracking in two with a sickening noise. More blood ran down and stained the grass red, as Jackie looked at this scene with a look of great disgust and horror.

"Ew! That is _it_!" she said. "I am not going to stand around here and watch you rip a dead bird in two pieces! You can gut it if you want; _I'm_ going back to camp!"

She started to walk off. Jacqueline looked up from tearing out the bird's innards and called to her, "That's not a good idea! You don't know the way back from here!"

Jackie ignored her and continued to walk away, until she came to the edge of the clearing. She indeed didn't remember her way back from where she was standing now, but that wasn't about to stop her; she didn't want Jacqueline to call her "prissy" again. Choosing the path nearest her, she pushed her way through the bushes and started to head in that direction.

At first it was rather pleasant; Jackie had never been for a walk in a natural wild forest before, but after a few moments she started to become uneasy. For one thing, the area she had just entered completely lacked the color green; the trees were stripped of their leaves and appeared to have been charred a dull black. The ground was a dull ash color and seemed to be made of dust, and to add to this she could see several things hanging from the trees that looked horribly like nooses.

She gulped, then continued to walk, looking at the nooses that hung from the trees with awe and wonder, although she was trying her best to contain her horror at the sight of these items. She was just about to go a bit closer to one to inspect it better, her head still raised, when she bumped into something.

At first she thought that it was no big deal, but when she looked down at what awaited her, she screamed in pure terror and jumped backward, still panting harshly. For the thing she had bumped into had been revealed to be a Dark Rider, only it wasn't in any way alive. It was covered head to foot in black and gray ash, half of its head that was actually visible appeared to be stripped down to the bone, and its lower half was buried deep in the dust. It had its mouth wide open, revealing its rotting teeth, and its empty eye sockets held a look of pure terror. It had one arm raised up toward the sky; the other was raised down, its hand pressed into the ashy ground.

Still stammering in terror, Jackie backed away from it, then scanned the landscape. Sure enough, there were more Dark Riders scattered across the area that appeared to have met the same fate as the one that she had bumped into, only they weren't in the exact same position as the first. Each one appeared to be in a different position than the last; some were sprawled out on the ground, some were buried into the ground, some were still on their horses, which were covered in ash and rotting away as well, and two were buried so deep into the ground that their arms were the only part of them visible; they were raised up toward the heavens in an almost pleading way. But there was one thing that brought them all together in one comparison—they all held the same looks of fear that the first one had.

She continued to stare at this scene, wide-eyed, as Jacqueline came bursting out of the bushes, still holding the skinned and gutted bird by its tail, and running across the ashy ground toward her. Grabbing her by her shoulders, she panted a few times, then demanded, "What's going on? What happened?"

Jackie jumped, then turned around to face Jacqueline. Snapping out of her trance and realizing what Jacqueline was trying to ask her, she shakily pointed out toward the rotting carcasses and said, her voice shaking slightly, "W-what are those?"

Jacqueline looked out at the grisly landscape, then sighed and said, shaking her head, "Crucible Grounds. It's one of the most horrifying landmarks in the area." She looked at one of the carcasses, then continued, "Years ago, these carcasses used to be living, breathing Dark Riders…but Machinos detested them because they had been accused many times of betraying him."

"So, what happened to make them like this?" Jackie asked, staring out at the landscape along with Jacqueline. The girl looked at her, then sighed again and continued:

"Well, he led them out of the Machinos grounds, telling them that they were to go into the forest and find something for him. The riders agreed, and set out, but shortly after that Machinos, the General, and his remaining men surrounded the area, cornering them right in the center of this clearing. Unable to get away, the riders within the circle started panicking…then, as their fear reached its breaking point, Machinos set the entire area on fire."

Jackie shuddered at the thought of this as Jacqueline added more to the gruesome story: "The riders tried to get away, but they were surrounded by flames. Machinos commanded his men to leave the area, and as soon as they had, legend has it that he then dismounted his horse, walked directly in front of the flames, and waited for their screams as the flames finally turned against them. He then laughed…just stood there and laughed…until the flames had died out…" She stopped talking.

Jackie looked out at the scene in horror, wondering how in cyberspace Machinos would turn against his own men. Finally thinking of what Matt had said earlier when they were at Mt. Olympus, she turned to Jacqueline and said, her voice still shaking, "W-were there at least any survivors?"

Jacqueline paused for a moment, then said, "Well, at first no one thought that any of them were able to get out in time, but rumors have been going around that there actually was one that managed to survive." She paused again, then added, "His name, as rumors have it, was Paradox, and he used to be one of the top spies in Machinos's army. Machinos praised him often when he found out some worthy information…"

"So why did Machinos burn him?" Jackie questioned, puzzled.

"Well, it wasn't actually Machinos that turned against him; it was the General. The rumors say that the General was disgusted with Machinos's praise of Paradox, and finally gave into envy and ratted that Paradox was actually working for the opposing side—alias, us." She sighed, shaking her head. "Machinos believed him, and decided to burn Paradox to death along with the others. Paradox used to be a genius when it came to figuring scams out, but he was unsuspecting of this for once. And when Machinos set the place on fire…well, he didn't want to stand this any longer. He bolted, and was never heard from since…" She trailed off again.

Jackie looked out at the scene again. "That's so sad…"

"Okay, okay, we don't need to start in on drama," Jacqueline told her, snapping out of her trance. She held up the bird to show her. "I've already plucked it and gutted it, so we should really get back to camp before it spoils. I don't want to go hunting for another one again."

Jackie looked at her, then nodded her head. The two were about to turn around and go back when something caught their eye. Whipping around, Jackie looked just in time to see a beautiful blue bird, paying a similar resemblance to a peacock. It was strutting around the grounds, bringing some color to the dreary place, and stopped near the bushes to peck at the berries that grew there every now and then.

Jackie was fascinated by it. "What is that, Jacqueline?" she asked her alternate.

Jacqueline growled in frustration, then said, "That's a special type of bird, Jackie. It doesn't show up around here often…I've forgotten its exact name, but I think it's called a Jade." She shook her head. "Listen, Jackie, we have to leave now if we ever want to get back to—"

She was cut short by a low growl that came from somewhere within the bushes. Curious, she looked over at the Jade along with Jackie, which appeared to be enjoying the afternoon shade of bushes that surrounded it. It fluffed its feathers, then strutted into the leaves; a loud squawk then followed it, along with a series of snorts, squeaks, and growls.

Jackie and Jacqueline stopped dead and stared at the bushes for a moment, until the growls and grunts ceased. Shortly after that, however, there was another snarl, and the bird's severed head came flying out of the bushes, its blue feathers stained red with blood. Jackie stared at it in shock, while Jacqueline was staring at the bushes, her mouth open slightly.

Jackie looked up at her alternate, then over at the bush as Jacqueline stared at it; this was the first time that Jackie had seen her with a look of terror set on her face. She watched as her alternate stared straight ahead, then finally mouthed two words:

"_Blind trackers_…"


	13. Blind Trackers

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

CHAPTER XIII: "Blind Trackers"

No sooner had Jacqueline mouthed these words than there was a bloodcurdling roar from the bushes, and in a split second a huge brown shape leapt out from behind the bush. It drew itself up to full height, which was about six or seven feet, Jackie estimated, sniffed the air, then growled and turned to look at them.

Jackie's eyes grew wide, for, now seeing the shape in full view, she could see now that it was a dog of some sort, only it looked much too big to be a normal one. It paid some striking resembalances to a rough collie, only it was bigger, fiercer, and looked like it had just been infected with the rabies disease. Shaggy brown-and-black fur covered its entire body; its claws were large and black, about six inches in length, protruding out from the toes, and its teeth were long and sharp. Half of the dead and bloodied Jade still dangled from its mouth.

Jackie backed up slowly, along with Jacqueline, as they continued to stare wide-eyed at the giant creature. At first Jackie was afraid to look into its eyes, not wanting to make eye contact for fear that the creature would rip her apart, but when she finally did, she was awe-struck. Its eyes were not visible, for a thick black strip that ran across the head covered both of them. She and her alternate watched as the creature sniffed the air, then snarled as its head turned to face them.

The creature remained quiet for a few moments, then it finally raised its head toward the sky, opened its mouth, and gave out a bone-chilling howl. It echoed throughout the treetops; they both froze as the creature lowered its head, then turned toward the back of Crucible Grounds and remained unmoving, as if waiting for something…

They sooner or later found out what it was waiting for, for about thirty seconds after the howl stopped echoing there was the thundering sound of feet on the ash, then four other shapes leapt out into the grounds, running toward the first creature. They looked exactly like the first, only they appeared smaller; Jacqueline stuttered, then turned around and started to run for it without saying another word.

Jackie noticed what she was getting at. "Wait!" she cried out, running after her alternate as fast as she could. She heard the creatures growl, then she heard the sound of their footsteps as they began to charge after them. She could hear their snarls of determination as they came ever closer to the two; soon she could feel their hot breath on her neck…

She screamed as she finally burst through the bushes and entered the clearing where the others were. Jacqueline was running about two or three inches in front of her, but she knew that it wasn't much; the things were gaining fast. She heard Jacqueline yell, "Matthew! They've come!", then she heard the sound of Matthew and the others getting to their feet.

She looked down at the ground as she continued to run; she was running out of breath and becoming exhausted, but she didn't falter once; if she did, she knew that she would easily become meat for the creatures behind her. Finally she caught up to the others, who were looking in awe at the things, which had entered the clearing and were slowly advancing on them, saliva dripping from their mouths.

"Matthew…" Matt stuttered, looking at the giant things that were surrounding them, "W-what are these things?"

"Blind Trackers," Matthew said, his voice shaking in horror. "They belong to Machinos, and they're vicious. They're going to kill us all if we don't do something soon…" He looked up in fear at the huge, towering creatures above them, and refused to say anything more.

Seeing that Matthew was going to be of no help, Matt turned his gaze toward Jacqueline and Zeny. Zeny was still staring up at the dogs in fear; he knew that she wanted to fight them by the way her fists were clenched, but she was completely unarmed. Jacqueline, on the other hand, was eyeing the creatures in the same fashion, but at the same time was slowly reaching for the bow strapped onto her back.

"Well, then," she said slowly, after a few moments of staring, "Allow me to make the first move!"

At this, she pulled out the bow, along with one of the strongest looking arrows in the pack, and in an instant pulled it back and shot it at the nearest Tracker. It struck the dog in the throat; it roared in pain and shook its head, possibly trying to get the arrow out. Jacqueline grinned as she watched it; it was now clawing at its neck with its front paws, still making a desperate attempt to dig the detested item out of its neck, but its results were unsuccessful. Blood soon began to seep out of the wound, leaving several red droplets falling onto the grass.

Seeing their comrade wounded somehow worked as a wake-up call for the other four Trackers; they immediately snapped to attention, screamed and barked in rage, then lunged for the party of eight. Jacqueline, however, was prepared, and once again shot another arrow at another one of the creatures. It struck another one of the dogs, the silver tip embedding itself through the beast's nasal cavity. The Tracker let out another scream of agony, then landed on the ground, shaking its head, the arrow wedged through its snout in a disgusting manner.

Jacqueline grinned, then snapped to attention once more and leapt onto the wounded Tracker's back, wrapping her arms tightly around its neck. The dog, noticing this, now ignored the pain in its wound and began bucking around, trying its best to throw her off. Jacqueline remained strong, however, and, after a few minutes of trying to control the creature, finally pulled another arrow out from the pack and plunged it down deep into the creature's throat. The Tracker screamed again, then gagged a few times and stopped bucking. It started to wheeze, blood now dripping from its mouth in place of the saliva.

Jacqueline continued to hang on to its neck as the Tracker dropped on its knees, still wheezing, its mouth now completely lined in red. It was still weakly clawing at its neck, trying to force the arrow out, just like the other Tracker, but, like the first one, its results were unsuccessful. It dropped to the ground completely, still wheezing; Jacqueline watched it, then looked up…just in time to see Matthew plunge his sword down into its back. The creature screamed weakly, then finally stopped breathing altogether; Matthew had wedged the blade deep into its chest. It would suffer no more.

Jacqueline looked down at the dead creature, then looked up at Matthew, who was pulling the sword blade out of the creature's chest. "I could've taken care of it myself," she said angrily.

"I'm sorry, Jacqueline," Matthew told her, placing the sword into his belt. "I knew that you would've taken care of it eventually, but I can't stand to see living things suffer, no matter how evil they may be. Arrows just won't do the job. I'm just glad I remembered that I always keep the sword under Skyrider's saddle…"

Jacqueline huffed, then said, crossing her arms, "So I suppose that you're going to say that you'll never part with it if we get out of this alive, huh?"

"Well, that was the particular idea," Matthew told her. He then looked down at the dead dog and shook his head sadly. "Well, at least this means that there's one less to take care of now…"

Jacqueline opened her mouth to say something back at him, but it was drowned out by a loud scream from the other side of the clearing. She closed her mouth at once as they both turned to look in the direction where the scream had come from…and their mouths dropped open in horror and disbelief.

The largest Tracker, the exact same one that Jackie and Jacqueline had encountered in Crucible Grounds earlier, was now crouched in a threatening pose at the end of the clearing, its mouth now lined bright red with blood. But that wasn't the thing that made them horrified. No, the thing that did the trick for that was Matt, who was now unconscious and hanging in the creature's jaws like a limp puppet. Apparently the creature had grabbed him when the others were distracted with the rest of the Trackers, and had sank its teeth into his flesh to make the blood drip from its mouth like it was now.

Jacqueline was the first to snap out of her trance. Giving a low growl in response to this, she ran forward, then yelled and leapt on top of the creature in fury. The dog was dumbfounded at first, then growled at the girl and roughly tossed its head backward, sending her falling off. She landed back first on the grass, then looked up and covered her head with her hands as the monstrous creature thundered over her and ran out of the clearing, heading for the waterfall, with Matt still dangling in its monstrous jaws.

As soon as it had gone, she uncovered her head and looked off in the direction where it had run, then clenched her hand into a fist and smacked the ground. "Blasted thing!" she shouted in rage.

Matthew ran up to her and, seeing that she was all right, gently put his hand on her shoulder. "Never mind that, we have to get Matt back from him!" He looked around at the other creatures, who had begun to advance on the remaining seven. After a short pause, he said, sounding a bit discouraged, "But I don't see how we can with all these other things in the way…"

"Inez and I will get them away from the area," Zeny said suddenly. Inez looked at her uneasily as her alternate added, "You and Jacqueline can go after the leader while we stall them."

"But what about us?" Codebird asked, sounding a bit frightened. Digit, who was standing next to him at the time, nodded; of course he was just as frightened as Codebird was at the time.

Matthew thought a moment, then said quickly, pointing up to one of the blackened trees in Crucible Grounds, "You two know how to fly, I'm sure. You can stay up in that tree until the danger has passed."

"Are you kidding?" Codebird said, sounding awestruck. "That tree is right at the edge of Crucible Grounds! You know how much I dread that place!"

"I know, Codebird, but it's the only way I know how to get you out of harm's way," Matthew told him, gently placing his hand on the bird's back. "That tree is the highest one within flight distance. None of them will be able to get you if you go up there."

"Well—" Codebird began, but he was cut short by one of the monsters leaping forward, unexpected by anyone at the time. It landed hard on the ground, its paw almost slamming down on top of Digit in the process. Digit yelped, then clung onto Jackie's leg, shaking in fright. The creature snarled, saliva strands hanging from its mouth as it eyed Digit hungrily, then opened its mouth and prepared to lunge again.

"Holy—" Matthew began, but instead quickly grabbed Jackie by the shoulders and yanked her out of the way, Digit along with her, as the creature leapt up into the air, then landed, its claws precious inches from tearing into Jackie's skirt. Jackie yelped, as Matthew turned to Digit and said, "Just get out of the way!"

Digit made no response but appeared more than happy to do so, for right as Matthew said this the two lifted themselves up, quickly flying out of snapping distance, and quickly made a break for the tree that Matthew had pointed at earlier. Matthew sighed, then brought Jackie to her feet and brandished his sword, warning the creatures to stay back.

He gritted his teeth, then turned his gaze toward Jackie, who was now shaking in fright as she stared at the snarling, drooling monsters. "You're going to need to go with Zeny and Inez," he told her. "As soon as you lure them away or somehow manage to get rid of all three of them, come back here. As for me, I'm going with Jacqueline to retrieve Matt before that thing tears him apart."

"You'll bring him back alive, right?" Jackie asked, sounding worried.

"I can't make any promises, Jackie," Matthew told her, "But I shall try my best."

Jackie nodded, then quickly ran over to where Zeny and Inez stood just as the beast leapt at Matthew again. Matthew yelled and swung the sword down, inflicting a deep gash in the creature's side. The Tracker howled, then angrily snarled, brandished its claws, and swiped its paw upward, aiming for Matthew's shoulder, and struck him down…

Zeny and Inez met Jackie over near the area where Skyrider had been tethered. The horse was now a nervous wreck, bucking around wildly and whinnying, her red eyes wide in fear. Zeny was trying to calm her down as so to get the chance to mount her, but her results were proving unsuccessful; the horse was still acting as wild as she had been before. Zeny sighed in frustration, then grabbed the horse's reins and yanked on them.

"Hello?" she said, frustrated, as she looked at the two girls. "I could use a little help with the horse, here!"

"What? Oh! Sure thing!" Inez told her, snapping out of her trance; then she and Jackie ran up and grabbed hold of the reins along with Zeny. The three girls' strength combined was enough to bring the horse to a stop, as so to mount her, and even as they did, their gazes were locked on the Trackers the entire time.

"We need some way to catch their attention," Zeny muttered, then she sighed and looked over at the three monsters. "But we don't have anything to throw at them, much less wound them with…"

It was then that, almost miraculously, one of the Trackers noticed the three girls and the horse standing at the edge of the clearing. Thinking that they were easy pickings, it licked its chops, turned away from Jacqueline and Matthew, then slowly and quietly advanced on them, drooling excessively. When it was about five feet from them, it crouched low, then growled and, with a determined bark, leapt at the horse.

Skyrider, at once sensing that something was wrong, turned her head to look behind her and, seeing the Tracker leaping for her, whinnied and, using the only form of defense that she had, shot up and kicked square in the chest with her hind legs. The dog's growl at once turned into a pained scream as it fell to the ground back first, thrashing around like a carp out of water. Skyrider snorted, then swished her tail and began to walk away from the creature, her head held high.

However, the other two, seeing their comrade wounded yet again, turned around, then snarled and charged toward the horse. Zeny, Inez, and Jackie, having seen Skyrider kick the third Tracker, now leaned to the side and saw the two other Trackers advancing slowly on them. Zeny gritted her teeth.

"Time to go," she muttered, then she yanked on the reins. Skyrider reared up and whinnied, vigorously pawing the air, then shot off, with the two Trackers in hot pursuit. The third Tracker, its breastbone caved in a bit by Skyrider's kick, gave a low groan, then slowly hauled itself to its feet and staggered off after the other two.

As soon as they had left, Jacqueline and Matthew, their thoughts now off the three remaining Trackers, slowly turned around, arming themselves as they did so. Matthew rubbed his shoulder as he brought his sword down to his side; the Tracker had managed to scratch him in that area just before Skyrider kicked the other one.

"You okay?" Jacqueline asked in concern, taking out an arrow from her pack.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Matthew told her weakly, still rubbing his shoulder. He then brandished his sword and started to fight his way through the brush. "Come on, he took Matt over to the riverside, it's a good chance that he'll rip him to shreds the moment he gets there. We have to intercept him before then."

"Got you loud and clear," Jacqueline told him, nodding. Matthew smiled, then the two ran off through the brush over to the riverside.

Skyrider whinnied as she frantically darted between the trees, trying her best not to slow down or smash into anything, the three Trackers hot on her heels. Zeny, Inez, and Jackie were just as frightened as Skyrider was; they knew that their escape depended entirely on her. If she failed, they would die. However, Skyrider seemed to know this and was trying her best not to let them down, it didn't take a genius to see that.

However, the Trackers didn't seem to be tiring, as Skyrider was. They appeared fresh as daisies, with the possible exception of the one with the creaking breastbone, darting between trees and leaping over logs, without any sight to discourage them, frustrate them, or stop them in any way. Not to mention that they were slowly and steadily gaining on them inch by inch. Inez and Jackie, who were near the horse's rear, noticed this, and soon enough Jackie had had enough. She reached forward and gently tapped Zeny on the shoulder.

"What?" Zeny asked, sounding discouraged.

"Zeny, um, I don't mean to be the one to break it to you, but the Blind Trackers are gaining on us, and fast, I might add," Jackie informed her, sounding a bit nervous. "I think we'd best do something before they—before they—" She broke off, not wanting to say anything more.

Zeny turned to look at her, then sighed and said, "I can probably fight them off, but I can't do it while I'm steering the horse. Someone has to take the reins while I concentrate on the Trackers." She looked at Inez, then at Jackie. "Do any of you know how to ride a horse back where you come from?"

Jackie and Inez looked at each other for a few moments, not sure what to say, then Inez spoke up. "Well, we both live in the city, so we don't know much about horseback riding, but Matt lives on a farm and he showed us one time…" She trailed off.

Zeny cocked her eyebrow, then said, sounding quite impatient, "So, do you know how to ride a horse or not?"

Jackie and Inez were about to say that they had never ridden a horse before in their lives when there was a loud sound from behind them, a sound that sounded like the combination of a girl screaming and a dog barking. Inez and Jackie at once knew that they had to do it; their lives depended on it, and finally Inez said, her voice slightly shaking, "I-I can try to control her."

Zeny looked at her. "Are you sure?"

"Y-yes!" Inez stammered. "I can try to control her. You just try and stop those things before what Jackie said actually does happen."

Zeny sighed; she looked like she had second thoughts, but instead nodded and, without pausing, handed the girl the reins. Inez gulped, then took them in her hands and leaned in toward the horse's neck, her hands shaking as she continued to keep a tight hold on them. She tried her best to concentrate on the path before her, she knew that if she made one mistake, all four of them—Skyrider included—would be dog chow.

Jackie looked at Inez with a look of concern, then turned to look at Zeny, who was sitting near the horse's tail, her front facing the three angered Trackers behind them. She sighed again, then turned to look at Jackie as Jackie said, "Zeny, I don't want to make this situation any worse, but how are you going to fight them off? You're completely unarmed, remember?"

Zeny made no response, but instead stared at her, looking a bit vexed. Her gaze then traveled down to the ground, which was rushing past them due to Skyrider's speed, and her look of vexation at once turned into a relieved gaze. Looking over at Jackie again, she calmly said, "I have a way to fight them. I just need you to hang onto my feet."

Jackie cocked her eyebrow. "Hang onto your feet? What for?"

"There's no time to answer questions, just follow my orders!" Zeny ordered her. Jackie sighed and looked up toward the sky, then grabbed onto the wild girl's ankles as she lay down on her stomach, then pushed over to the side, causing her to slip off the side of the horse so that she was dangling one or two feet from the ground. Jackie held onto her more tightly than before as Zeny looked to the ground below her, then quickly reached her hand down, scooping up a group of three or four rocks. She then quickly straightened back up, as Jackie let go of her ankles.

"What are those for?" Jackie asked, confused, pointing to the rocks that were clenched in Zeny's fist. Zeny looked over at her, then smiled mischievously and reached up toward the tan bandana that was tied around her head. Jackie watched as she removed it, then grasped the ends in her other hand and, balancing herself, removed her other hand from the horse's back and placed one of the rocks that was in it inside the bandana. She then turned to look at Jackie as she held it above her head.

"Watch," she ordered; then she started to swing the bandana over her head, like a lasso, picking up more speed by the second. After a few moments, she aimed for the closest Tracker, closed her eyes, then let go of one of the ends, sending the stone into the air. It was going so fast Jackie could not see it, but within a second the stone had struck the Tracker directly in the center of the head, burying the jagged stone deep into its skull. It screamed, then fell to the ground and thrashed around for a few moments as the other two raced over it, continuing their pursuit of the three girls. They were over the horizon by the time the Tracker finally stopped all signs of movement completely.

Jackie looked in awe at what she had just seen, then turned to look at Zeny, who had already placed another rock in the bandana and was waiting for the right time to strike. The girl then turned to look at Jackie, and finally said, a slight laugh in her tone, "It's an age-old trick. If you know the right place to strike, it'll kill them in an instant."

Inez then let out a frightened yelp, then water splashed them both in the faces as Skyrider ran across the river. Wiping the water from her eyes, Zeny sputtered for a moment; the event had caught her off guard, then looked up at the other two Trackers, who had jumped into the river and were beginning to swim after them.

Zeny gritted her teeth, then, ignoring the raging currents splashing around them, swung the bandana over her head again, then let the rock go. However, the water in her eyes had defected her aim, and thus struck the closer Tracker directly in the chest instead of the head.

Normally this would not have affected it, but this happened to be the exact same Tracker that had been kicked by Skyrider earlier. The force of the rock caused its breastbone to crack entirely; it screamed in agony, then fell down into the river with a loud _SPLASH_. It sank to the bottom, water filling its already punctured lungs. It died instantly; there were no more howls of suffering to be heard.

Zeny sighed, then shook her head and placed yet another rock inside the bandana, this time hoping for a better aim. The one remaining Tracker slowly pulled itself out of the river shortly after Skyrider had done so, baring its teeth, a low, raspy growl coming from its throat. Zeny growled in response, then slowly brought the rock over her head and swung it for the third time.

The dog may have lacked its sight, but its hearing was now acute, as was its smell. The water had coated the three girls and the horse with water, however, so it could not smell them very well, but it could still hear them. Growling, it heard the sound of the wind whistling for the third time; it knew not what it was, but it knew that it was dangerous, considering the fact that two of its comrades had fallen dead shortly after that sound had been heard. Piecing this together, it growled and ducked just as the rock swished past its head, narrowly missing its ear.

Zeny gasped, then once again shook her head as she stared at the creature, which was now pulling itself back up to full height. It snarled, saliva and water dripping out from between its jaws, then gave an angry roar and leapt at them. Its massive front paws slammed into the horse's side; she was not fast enough to avoid the attack in time, sending her crashing to her side. Inez, Jackie, and Zeny, caught by surprise, fell off and rolled across the dusty ground, narrowly missing smashing into a nearby tree.

Skyrider looked up at the Tracker in fear, her breath coming in short, quick gasps, as the dog snarled, then opened its jaws and brought its head down, clamping tightly onto her neck. The horse gave out a horrible shriek as blood began to flow from her neck, staining the dog's teeth and her metal coating bright red. Zeny, seeing her horse in despair, growled angrily, then shook the dead leaves from her hair and slowly got to her feet, her hands clenched tightly into fists…

Matthew and Jacqueline finally emerged from the brush after what seemed like hours, although it was only a matter of minutes, their bodies covered with dirt and dust and bits of twigs and dead leaves stuck in their hair. Panting in exhaustion, Matthew lowered his sword, then clutched his injured shoulder again and said, staring up at Jacqueline, who was half hidden in the fog from the waterfall, "Okay—which way did he go? I—can't see a thing—through all this waterfall fog…"

Jacqueline looked down at him, then, gritting her teeth, said, pointing toward the edge of the river, "That way. I can smell blood through the water a mile off."

Matthew nodded, then brandished his sword again as Jacqueline headed off toward the edge of the creek, nearly disappearing in the fog. The boy followed her, his eyes narrowed in determination, as they came closer to the dim black shape near the bottom of the waterfall. It was hunched over; blood coated its teeth as it ripped a chunk out of Matt's arm, then swallowed it whole. Matthew cringed, then gave a low growl as he stepped closer to the dog; Jacqueline followed closely behind him. She, too, held the same look of anger and determination that her comrade had.

The dog, sensing their presence, turned its head up in their direction, its eyes hidden completely by the heavy black band that covered its head. It knew they were there, it could hear them coming, and thus turned away from the unconscious and bloodied Matt and drew itself up to full height, breathing down on them. 

Matthew, however, was unfazed by the dog's threatening attempt to ward them off. Instead, he narrowed his eyes even more, then brought his sword up near his side as he hissed, through clenched teeth:

"Hello, _Saton_. Fancy meeting you here…"


	14. Blood on the Leaves

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

CHAPTER XIV: "Blood on the Leaves"

Saton made no response, but instead uttered a threatening growl and loomed forward, towering at the least two or three feet over both of them. Matthew still remained unfazed, and continued to stare up at the monster, his eyes narrowed and his sword at ready. Jacqueline, in the same pose as Matthew, continued to stand as well, not making any sudden movements, never speaking, and hardly even doing so much as twitching. Saton stood as still as a statue as well, and his breath shortened in seconds…pretty soon they could hear nothing but the rushing of the waterfall near them…

The silence in the air was finally shattered by Saton emitting an angered roar. Extending his large claws, he leapt at the two; however, Jacqueline was prepared for such an advance and had one of her best arrows at ready. She aimed it for the monstrous creature's chest and shot it; however, it narrowly grazed the targeted area and struck the dog in the paw instead, seeing that this appendage was held out in front at the time. Saton felt the arrow dig into his ankle and, letting out a scream of pain, paused his advance and landed awkwardly near the stream, the injured paw half into the water. Blood was beginning to seep from the wound and stain the adjacent liquid bright red.

He lowered his head and tensed for a while, then with an angry snarl turned his head back up toward his attacker. Jacqueline responded in the same way, until Saton lunged again, this time shielding his chest with his uninjured paw. Blood droplets, mixed with water, flew from his paw and landed on the grass in a splatter pattern, clearly visible to the human eye; however, both were unfazed despite this sight. They wanted Saton dead, no matter how horrible his injuries may seem.

Jacqueline was always one to support this, of course. Reaching into her pack once more, she took out her last arrow, placed it in the bow, and, taking careful aim, shot it. It struck Saton in the place where his left eye would have been, if he had had any, and even though it didn't affect his sight, he still felt pain in that area. Emitting a loud, painful scream, he brought his injured paw to his injured socket and scratched at the arrow to dig it out, just as one of his followers had done earlier. Jacqueline watched, her eyes narrowed dangerously…now that she had used her last arrow on Saton, she was completely unarmed. If the dog suddenly sprang forth and attacked her…

Saton, however, paid no attention to the girl; he was too busy trying to dig the arrow out of his socket. Considering that it was in deep, however, this only caused more blood to trickle down the side of his face and form a red puddle at his feet. Baring his teeth, possibly in frustration, he continued to dig at his face, annoyed growls escaping his throat every now and then. Jacqueline stood completely still, waiting for Saton to lunge at her and try to rip her apart, but he made no sudden movements to do so whatsoever. Convinced that Saton wasn't going to do anything soon, she turned to look at Matthew, who still had his eyes narrowed, even though he too was making no effort to be poised for attack.

After a few tense moments, Matthew finally took a step forward, toward the area where Matt lay. He stopped for a brief moment, then turned to look at Saton, as if expecting him to notice and attack, but the dog was still preoccupied with digging the arrow out of his eye; it appeared to be in deep. Matthew sucked in another breath through his teeth, then slowly took another step forward. Noticing that Saton wasn't paying any attention to him whatsoever, he took another step closer, then another, and continued to walk cautiously toward his alternate in this exact same manner. When he was about a yard away from Matt, he slowly stopped at his feet, then slowly knelt down near the edge of the water and slowly extended his hand, in order to get the boy out of the river…

As soon as his hand was inches from Matt's arm, he heard an angered roar, then he felt something slam into his back—hard. Gasping in pain and surprise, that and the force of the blow had knocked the wind out of him, he fell forward, splashing face-first into the river. Sputtering, he surfaced after a few moments, then looked up and wiped the water out of his eyes just in time to see Saton, standing over him, his teeth bared and his mouth dripping with saliva and water. He had succeeded in digging the arrow from his socket; blood was dripping down the side of his face and leaving the water looking oddly colored.

Matthew glared at the dog monster, then felt around for his sword—only to realize that he no longer had it. His mouth dropping open slightly, he looked over toward the shore, near where Matt was still lying. Sure enough, the blow had been so unexpected that it had knocked his sword out of his hand; it now lay about three yards from where he was now. He stuttered in terror as his gaze turned back up to meet Saton; without his sword he was left completely defenseless.

Saton seemed to know this as well, and was almost grinning as he raised up his massive paw. Matthew let a soft moan escape his throat, right before Saton slammed his paw—along with its six-inch claws—down directly on top of him. As a result of both the force and the fact that the claws were always out, Matthew was not only thrown back down into the water, but the claws were also buried into his back as his face hit the surface. As he submerged, he felt the blood trickling down through the inflicted wounds…then he saw the red curtain in front of his eyes as his blood finally stained the water. He tensed in pain, but could not scream; if he did he would drown, seeing that he was being held down under the water by the claws as well…

He struggled, trying his best to break free, but it was useless; Saton had a tight hold on him. He could feel his lungs emptying…if he didn't take another breath soon, he would surely either suffocate or drown. But he didn't have any form of defense, and Saton couldn't be taken down without some kind of force. He slowly closed his eyes, knowing for certain that he was a goner…

After a few seconds more, he heard a loud screech, then he felt another surge of pain as the claws were finally removed from his back, the force as well. Finally letting his breath out, he quickly raised his face out of the water, taking in huge breaths of air. Wiping the water out of his eyes, he looked over through the watery veil just in time to see Jacqueline, with the sword clenched tightly in one hand, land in the shallow water about a yard from Saton, who was currently tensing in pain again. As the water cleared from his eyes, Matthew could finally see why: Jacqueline had sliced directly through his shoulder-blade, leaving a long, red, blood soaked gash on his back.

He now turned to his comrade as she slowly lowered the sword in front of her face, panting harshly, her gaze locked directly on Saton. Saton tensed in pain for a few more moments, then let out an angry snarl and bared his teeth at the girl; if he had eyes Matthew could swear that he was glaring. Jacqueline snarled in return, in her own way, then gave out a loud battle cry and leapt at Saton, the sword raised over her head.

Saton pricked his ears; he had heard her yell, and, now ignoring the gashes in his skull and shoulder completely, lowered his head and, just as Jacqueline was about to cut into his neck, swung it to the side. The hard edge of his skull connected with the girl's back; she screamed in pain as she fell back down into the river, splashing both Matthew and Saton with water and blood from the previous wounds. In the moment, she had dropped the sword; it now lay beneath the water about three or four yards from where she was now.

However, although Jacqueline had lost her only form of defense, it didn't mean that she was left completely helpless, as Matthew had been earlier. Just as Saton opened his massive jaws again to detach the girl's arm, she shot forward and kicked the dog square in the chin, with as much force as she possibly could muster. It wasn't her best, but it was good enough; Saton howled and placed his paw to his snout before snarling at her again, then raising the exact same paw up above his head, to strike it down onto her.

Knowing that this was to happen, she ignored the pain in her back from where Saton had smashed into her and leapt out of the way just as the black claws struck the water, skimming the surface and sending water droplets splashing back into the stream. Saton, noticing that his prey had moved by the splashes adjacent to him, growled angrily and turned toward the splashes, where Jacqueline was at the moment, running through the shallows to the sword, which still lay beneath them.

She was about three feet from the sword when Saton leapt forward and slammed his paw, along with the dreaded claws, directly on top of her injured back. Letting out a yelp of both surprise and pain, the girl splashed back down into the water yet again, her outstretched hand precious inches from the sword's handle. She groaned as Saton placed more pressure onto her; she knew that if she let him do this, he would break her ribs, then rip her to pieces. But she was in too much pain to even think straight…

_The sword_, was all that echoed through her mind. _I must…get…the sword…come on, Jacqueline…you can do this…you've always been able to do this…_

She heard Saton growl, then she felt his hot breath on her neck as he lowered his jaws closer to her head. As he did so, he leaned forward, placing even more pressure onto her ribs; she could hear them creaking as they resisted the urge to break entirely…she heard the swish of the wind as he raised his paw…

_Now! Do it now or you might never have the chance to do it again!_

Finally giving in to the voice, she quickly reached over and grabbed the sword, then shoved it upward with as much force as she could. She could see nothing, as her eyes were tightly closed due to the pain, but she could hear a loud _SPLORK_ sound as the sword connected, then she heard a loud, pained howl, and finally shortly after something warm and wet dropped down onto the side of her face.

Opening her eyes at last, she could finally see what had happened. The sword, its silver tip now stained bright red with blood, had embedded itself directly into Saton's chest. It was not directly centered, so it was a good chance that the heart itself had not been hit; however, it was enough to hit one of the lungs, she guessed. Blood was dripping out of the wound and forming puddles of red in the water around them; touching her hand to her face, she could see that the substance that had hit her face was blood as well.

She tensed for a few moments, then finally gave a quiet sigh of relief as the dog monster removed his claws from her back. Turning her head weakly to the side, she could see that the dog monster was retreating from the area, staggering as he fought the urge to drop to the ground. Blood was still trickling from the wound, leaving a visible path as he left the area, not even bothering to take Matt with him. Taking another deep breath, she slowly placed her hands down on the rocky bottom and pushed herself up, gritting her teeth as yet another surge of pain shot through her.

Panting, she turned her head toward Matthew, who was slowly rising out of the water, groaning in pain. She then saw him rub the gaping holes left in his back by Saton's claws; they were still bleeding, then he ran over to her.

"Are—are you okay, Jacqueline?" he panted as he helped her to her feet. 

"I'm no better than you are right now," Jacqueline admitted weakly. Slowly regaining her balance, she sighed again, then turned her gaze toward him and said, "We'd better find Zeny and the others now…they _must've_ had an easier time than we did."

Matthew responded by merely nodding, then he walked over to where Matt lay and, picking up the boy's bloodied body, slung his arm over his shoulder and held onto his waist with his hand, in order to prevent him from dropping. He then turned to Jacqueline, and asked the question: "Is my sword going to be retrieved from that monster or not?"

"Forget it," Jacqueline told him, sounding annoyed. "That sword is in the dog too deep and too far away now to even consider the thought of retrieving it. I say that we should just find the others, then find a good place to tend to our wounds."

Matthew groaned, then shifted Matt's weight more onto his shoulder as he and Jacqueline treaded through the brush, heading back in the direction of Crucible Grounds…

While Matthew and Jacqueline were at the creek battling (and shortly after wounding) Saton, Zeny was dealing with a few problems of her own, the major one being that the last remaining Tracker had sunk its teeth into her horse's neck and was now coming close to ripping it clear off. Zeny, however, wasn't about to let the monster do this without a fight, and was standing in front of it, her hands balled into tight fists.

The dog ignored the girl and continued to hungrily knaw at the horse's neck, while the horse herself screeched in pain. More blood ran down from her neck and stained the dead leaves that lay beneath them as the dog continued to tighten its grip.

Zeny could finally stand it no longer. Emitting a loud scream of rage, she leapt forward and thrust one of her fists into the dog's throat. The dog let out a choked gag, and as it did so loosened its hold on Skyrider's neck, allowing the injured horse's head to drop down onto the grass. It bent over slightly, still gagging, with Skyrider's blood still dripping from its mouth, as Zeny stood before it, her eyes narrowed and her teeth gritting.

The dog let out another hoarse gag, then growled and turned its head up in Zeny's direction. It sniffed the air for a moment, then got off of its haunches, drew back, and sprung forward, its claws extended. Zeny remained still for a few moments, then at the last second jumped upward. Inez and Jackie watched in both surprise and worry as the girl and the Tracker collided, allowing Zeny to catch a tight hold on its neck with her hands. She then pushed her feet against its chest, then swung upward, delivering another hard kick to the dog's throat.

The dog made a noise that sounded like a cross between a scream and a gag, then dropped onto the ground, bent over, coughing. Zeny let go of its neck, then ran across the grass and threw herself behind a dead log, just as the Tracker fully recovered. Spitting out a wad of saliva, it drew itself back up, then looked around, a hungry gaze on its face.

It sniffed the air again, then lowered its head toward the two girls, who were now pressed up against the tree as so not to get in either Zeny or the Tracker's way. It had now caught their scent, however, and was slowly pacing toward them, its claws curled in the most evil manner, and its teeth bared in the form of a grin, almost. Jackie gasped, then drew Inez closer to her as she pressed tighter against the tree, her gaze locked on the Tracker.

"Oh, man," she whispered. "It's going to kill us…Zeny, where are you?"

There was no response, except the hungry growl of the Tracker as it drew closer. It stopped about three yards from them, then coiled back and, with a loud roar, sprung. Jackie screamed and Inez gasped as the dog's claws came closer to them; Jackie shielded her head while Inez frantically looked around, knowing that Zeny would never abandon them; not if her reputation depended on it. But she was nowhere to be seen, not even behind the log…

She too had no choice but to shield her head as the Tracker started to come down on them; however, after a few moments' time she did not feel the Tracker's claws on her neck or back, let alone any part of her body, nor the Tracker's hot breath on her neck. She instead heard a loud _SPLACK_ sound, then the agonizing scream of something dying. When she finally had the courage to reopen her eyes, she found the Tracker sprawled out on the ground, about two yards from Skyrider, its mouth open slightly. Looking closer, Inez could see that there was blood slowly leaking from the mouth. As she looked further down, she could see that there was a large, and no doubt sharp, stick wedged directly into its stomach.

She covered her mouth with her hand at this sight, just as Zeny came out from behind the massive carcass, and waved at them. Inez looked at her, then softly tapped Jackie on the shoulder. At this signal, the girl stopped cowering and looked up to face the sight that lay before them. She too, like Inez, covered her mouth.

"Oh, heaven," she exclaimed in both horror and great disgust. "What happened to it?"

Zeny smirked, then held up her hands, revealing the bloodshed dripping from them. Both girls looked at her with mixed expressions of surprise and disgust on their faces as she lowered them, then wiped them off on her skirt. "It took me a while to find a stick like that and sharpen it," she informed them, still sounding smug.

"Cool," Inez exclaimed, eyeing the spear still wedged into the Tracker's stomach. "You made that yourself?"

Zeny nodded. Jackie looked at the carcass as well, then merely shook her head and said, "That is not cool. That is just disgusting and barbaric." Inez and Zeny turned to look at her, with odd looks on their faces, as Jackie continued, "I don't mean ripping a person to pieces barbaric, I just mean blood barbaric."

Zeny and Inez both rolled their eyes, then looked over at the brush just in time to see Matthew and Jacqueline come out. Their wounds were scabbed over and had stopped bleeding for the moment, but they had still weakened from blood loss. Matthew had to use all of his strength just to keep Matt hung around his shoulder.

"Guys!" Zeny said happily, running over to them. "You okay? What happened back there?"

Matthew turned up to look at her; his eyes seemed sunken. "Never mind that," he told her. "I just…need to rest…for a moment…build up my strength so that we can continue…"

Jacqueline nodded in agreement as Zeny sighed, then said, "Very well, guys…where do you say we should—"

"What…happened to…Skyrider?" Matthew panted at the last moment. Freezing on the spot all of a sudden, Zeny turned around and looked past the carcass to find Skyrider, still sprawled out on the ground. She ran up to her side and examined her wounded areas; the ribs her side were slightly cracked and there were several puncture wounds in her neck from where the Tracker had bitten her. Her eyes had been closed, but as Zeny placed her hand on her side she opened them and turned her gaze up to face the girl.

"It's fine, girl," Zeny told her soothingly, stroking her. "You'll be fine…" She turned to look at Matthew, Jacqueline, and the others. "I need you to tell Digit and Codebird that it's safe to come down now; the Trackers are gone so there's technically no danger left in this part of the woods. Inez, Jackie, I need some herbs and water for Skyrider…"

The sun was setting when Saton, the sword still wedged deeply into his chest, came staggering across the field and onto the Machinos grounds. Panting harshly, he turned his head up just in time to hear footsteps on the dust; he then caught the scent of both Machinos and the General as they stopped in front of him. He felt Machinos place his hand on the spot where he had been wounded, then he heard him growl as he removed it.

"He's been wounded, General," he said, sounding very dissatisfied. "Not only that—" He then reached down and, using both of his hands, worked the bloodied sword free from the dog's chest, causing Saton to cringe in pain—"It was the work of Matthew...Matthew only."

"How do you know 'dat, Sire?" the General replied, sounding dead serious, yet quite confused.

"Only Matthew wields the sword, General." He tossed the blade aside into the grass as he continued, touching his fingers to one another and lowering his head, "If only Matthew can do that, imagine what the other Freedom Fighters—maybe even their foolish little comrades—can do when united. We shall need a small search party accompanying us on our voyage."

The General nodded, as Machinos turned to face Saton and commanded, his voice cold, "Saton, you have met the Freedom Fighters, no doubt…where did you find them in, pray tell?"

Saton coughed up some blood from his throat, then gagged and shakily turned his head toward the area past the old windmill, barely visible from the grounds, before he fell into the puddle of blood that dripped from his chest wound. Machinos looked down at him, then turned his gaze up toward the windmill, a lifeless gaze in his dangerously narrowed eyes…


	15. Past Recollections

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XV: "Past Recollections"

The final rays of sunset were dancing on the circular pattern of the rusted windmill's top as six or seven figures, accompanying their horses, rode across the pale gray grass of the empty field. Machinos was at the front, naturally, with the General riding close beside him. Trailing them was a group of four or five Dark Riders, as shadow-like and lifeless as the ones before them. Not one of them uttered a word as they slowly trotted toward the metal structure that stood alone in the direct center of the drab gray area.

This silence continued until they were about two or three yards from the windmill. That was when Machinos breathed a deep sigh, then dismounted his horse while it was still trotting and, taking the reins in his hand, slowly approached the lifeless structure, the dead gaze still on his face. The General, looking rather confused, slowed his horse to a walk and looked at the two as one continued to lead the other. He then turned his gaze to the Dark Riders.

"Stop your horses!" he commanded. The Dark Riders, obeying this order, slowed and eventually stopped their horses about a yard from the windmill; the General did the same. He dismounted and looked over toward the base of the windmill just in time to see Machinos leave his horse and enter through the old wooden door.

The look of confusion still on his face, he slowly released his horse's reins and, as if drawn by an invisible force, slowly approached the windmill's base, where he found his master standing inside the doorway, about two or three feet into the building itself. He slowly stepped into it; the dust under his feet clouded as he halted beside Machinos. Looking up, he could see that Machinos no longer held the dark look he normally had on his face; in place of it was a look of mixed anger and sadness.

The silence continued to drone on, until Machinos finally breathed a deep sigh and said, a hint of slight depression in his voice, "General, have you ever wondered what had become of me before I came to overpower cyberspace eons ago?"

The General made no response, but merely stared ahead at the empty walls as Machinos continued, ignoring the fact that he had not responded to him, "Years ago…in this windmill…I was created by a man…a heartless, vicious brute he was. He beat me day and night for what seemed like an eternity. I knew not why. I had done nothing. I wondered why he couldn't just leave me be…I had no purpose but to be smacked around, it seemed. Well, one night I had had enough." He clenched his hand into a tight fist, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he continued, his voice now ice-cold, "I did not want that…that _evil _being to hit me or kick me again. I did what had to be done…what _should have_ been done…"

Without looking at the General to witness his reaction, he closed his eyes, slowly letting the last words that the man ever spoke in this area come seeping back into his mind:

_"Get up, you nasty scrap pile! What do you think you are, to disobey me like this! I knew that it was wrong to ever even try to set you straight!"_

"Just stop…stop…please…"

"Don't you dare tell me to stop what I'm doing!"

"I didn't—"

"No! I've had enough of you. I'm shutting you down…it's the only reasonable thing to do. You've been annoying me like the Devil for the past few days…I was not meant to be harassed by a rust bucket like you!"

"But…w-what did I ever do t-to you?"

"Shut up! I told you that I've had enough. There's no changing my mind now…"

"Please…I swear I'll listen to you from now on…just let me live…"

"No! What did I just tell you, you slime-dweller? Now…hold still…hold still NOW…"

"No…I won't! I WON'T!"

"What did you just say!"

"You heard me…"

"Wait—wait—what are you doing? Get your dirty paws off of me!"

"No. I now realized that trying to please you was nothing but a waste of my time. I now know the true face of the citizens in this world, and it's been more than I can bear. If others are like you, they don't deserve to live…they deserve to rot six feet under. Which is exactly what I'm going to do to you…right…this…very…second…"

"No. No! NOOO!"

"…Kiss the darkness…"

There was nothing but silence after these final words echoed through his mind. A cold grin crept across his face as he reopened his eyes, then, finally recalling every moment he had spent inside this dank structure, slowly walked across the room, stopping at a certain corner, near the fireplace. Looking over to the left, he could see, half-hidden in the shadows, sure enough, an old wooden table, rotted with age, and leaning on its side in an awkward notion. He stared at it for a few moments, then finally breathed a deep sigh and extended his hand towards it.

The General continued to stare at him questionably as Machinos slowly turned the table over; the rotting wood finally gave in with this one little motion and immediately fell, provoking a deafening crashing sound. Machinos ignored this, however, and, spotting something at long last, reached down and slowly took it up in his hand. He then held it up to his face, bathing the object in the moonlight outside.

Once illuminated, it was now proven to be an ancient and rather dusty amulet, the jewel in the center cracked open and the leather straps that held it long since worn down. The moonlight still glinted off the areas that hadn't been dusty or cracked, and the General stared at it in awe, although he didn't have the slightest idea what all of this meant.

"This necklace…it belonged to my master…my so _detested_ master!" He threw the item to the ground in anger, then panted harshly for a few moments and said, still sounding greatly vexed, "Every moment of the day he'd wear that amulet…when he wasn't he'd use it to whip me. I hated him from day one, yet I refused to try anything daring…well, I finally gave in, and once the blood hit the walls, I stopped. I had lost my eye, but I had gotten rid of the man I had most hated. After that..." He sighed, then said, cutting off and walking back toward the open doorway, "Come, General. This is an inappropriate time to be telling silly stories. We have some unfinished business to take care of…"

The General stared after him, then looked down at the amulet on the ground, then toward the table, and finally the walls before heading out to mount his horse and rejoin the search group. He continued to stare at Machinos as he mounted, then snapped the reins on his horse, sending them past the windmill and toward the direction of the forest. As he rode, the thoughts washed through his mind like waves on a beach: what did Machinos mean by "my master"? Didn't he say earlier, many times, that he detested the windmill? Was his life of abuse the reason he hated it?

"General!" Machinos barked, causing him to snap out of his trance and snap to attention.

"Yes, Sire?"

"Stop staring at me. There are other things to gape at besides my back."

The General nodded, then turned his gaze past Machinos and toward the dark grove of trees that led into the forest. Machinos, aware that he had redirected his gaze, then sighed and narrowed his eyes, as he thought.

_Diable, you should've known better…_

Meanwhile, in the depths of the forest that Machinos and his party were heading in, Matt, Jackie, Inez, Digit, and their alternates were trying their hardest to maneuver through the tangled brush, which was a bit hard considering the fact that Skyrider was suffering from the wounds that the Blind Tracker had inflicted in her. The wounds had stopped bleeding for the most part, and were covered with bandages made from leaves soaked with herbal water, but they still tinged with pain, and Zeny was trying her best to be gentle with her. However, this slowed them down a great deal, and Matthew was beginning to grow restless as the sunset waned and night began.

As soon as the stars began to appear, Matthew finally sighed and held up his hand to halt the others. "That's enough for today," he told them, walking over toward a pile of dead leaves and pushing them into a neat pile. "We'll set up camp here…hopefully there won't be any more interruptions for tonight."

Jacqueline and Zeny nodded, then Zeny slowly released her grip on Skyrider's reins and softly pushed her haunches to allow her to lie down. The horse readily accepted, and lay on her side as Zeny walked over to the area where Matthew was standing. He had now formed the pile of dead leaves into a small bed, and was now down on his knees, searching the ground for sticks. Zeny sighed, then got down on her knees and assisted Matthew in this task. Jacqueline sighed, then dropped the sword that she had been carrying in the grass and lay down on the ground, her hands behind her head, as she stared up at the stars.

Matt looked at the three, then shrugged and walked over to the area where "camp" had been set up, then shimmied up a nearby dead tree and sprawled himself out on its branches, eyeing the ground below him as he swung his feet; Inez and Jackie looked up at him, then sighed and walked over to the pile of dead leaves, and took their seats in front of it. Digit and Codebird sprawled themselves out near Skyrider, then slowly drifted off, having been exhausted by their previous ordeals.

Inez, seeing that Jacqueline had been staring at the stars, looked up at the inky sky and sighed, placing her head in her hand as she thought about her own world…what she was missing. She had been gone for nearly five days now, she had counted, and was starting to miss everything back home…her pet cat, her family, and of course Dr. Marbles and Motherboard…she wondered if she would ever leave this universe in one piece, let alone ever get back…

It was then that Jacqueline looked at her from her current angle. Sitting up, she looked over toward Inez and Jackie and said, "You two miss your old universe, don't you?"

Inez sighed. "Yeah," she admitted, sounding greatly depressed as she stared up at the sky over her head. "I mean, it's been okay traveling with you, but somehow I just wish that I could go back…I keep thinking that this is a dream of some sort…but I know that it isn't. The only way to get out of this situation is to find the portal that will take us back, but who knows how long that'll take…"

Jackie, who was still sitting next to her, sadly nodded her head in agreement. "I have to admit that I want to go back now as well. I can't help thinking about what Dr. Marbles and Motherboard are thinking about us now that we've been gone from their world for five days…let alone the real world…I can just imagine 'missing' posters with my picture on them all over town…"

Jacqueline sighed, then turned herself around so that she was facing them and said, "Well, now you know how I felt…just imagine the look on Zeny's, Matthew's, and my faces when we found out that we could never go back to our own world…never. Not that I miss it, mind you…" She looked up toward the sky, her head placed in her hand, then murmured, "I still have so many memories from that world…"

"Really?" Jackie said, looking over at her. "Do you…do you think that you could possibly tell them to us? We'd love to hear a story after all of this."

Jacqueline looked down at her, then said, "Well, I don't exactly miss my life back on earth, but Zeny and Matthew do. They've always did, but they just don't admit it." She nodded over in the direction of the other two alternates, who were now carrying sticks to the center of the area. "We've been gone for about two or three years now, and lately we've enjoyed it…no one's been telling us what to do, and we get to do whatever we please, if Machinos isn't onto us."

She rubbed her hand across the soft grass that coated the ground, then sighed again and continued, "However, despite the fact that we finally get our independence from everyone else twenty-four seven, we often have dreams about how things used to be back on earth…Matthew and Zeny always wake up wishing they could go back, and it continues for an hour before they finally go back to sleep…" She broke off, and looked back up toward the stars; the look on her face told the other two girls that she was musing to herself.

"So, how were your lives back on earth?" Inez asked, flopping down on her stomach and resting her head in her hands as she looked at Jacqueline. "And why don't you miss your old life? Didn't you have any family or friends that cared for you?"

Jacqueline turned her gaze back down in Inez's direction and shot her a cold glare, then leaned back onto the grass again and said, "I did have a family, but they didn't pay much attention to me at all…my dad was always out hunting for sport, and my mom was always too busy praising my older brother to even bother to think about me. We lived in a forest, so we rarely met with other people…so I didn't have very many friends, if any."

She turned over on her stomach, so that she was facing Inez and Jackie, then continued, "I hated living in that forest…it didn't have half the beauty that this one we're in now has. It was just an endless grove of trees, and no matter which way you looked, you could see nothing but trees…it was sickening. And the animals were no better, mind you. I lost my eye because of a stupid forest animal…" She looked over toward where Codebird and Digit were currently sleeping.

"Really?" Jackie said, getting down on her stomach along with Inez. "What animal caused you to lose your eye?"

"Bear," Jacqueline replied simply, plucking a blade of long grass from the ground and sticking it in her mouth to chew on. "I was out with my dad on a hunting expedition, and I wanted to go for bigger game…I'd been hunting for years and was dead tired of shooting ducks and raccoons for sport. I decided that I was ready enough to take on a bear, but it didn't exactly go how I expected…its claws cut my eye clear out of my socket." She then took the grass stalk out of her mouth and spit out the remaining contents.

"Ew," Jackie simply responded, making a disgusted face as she got a clear picture of this.

Jacqueline forced a laugh. "Yeah," she said, "And it would've killed me with one blow if I hadn't had my archery set with me at the time. I was an expert with a bow and arrow before I even came here. I also practiced martial arts in my spare time when I was fed up with archery for the day. Mom and Dad didn't praise me, of course, they were too busy with my brother for that."

"So, how did you meet Zeny and Matthew?" Inez asked. "I mean, you said that you lived in a forest and didn't socialize very often…and I'm sure that you three didn't meet in a library like Matt, Jackie, and I did…"

Jacqueline shook her head. "We didn't. We met each other at an old swimming hole that was just outside the grove of trees I saw so often…I had to go fetch some water from it, since we couldn't exactly get good plumbing services, and I when I reached it I saw Zeny and Matthew near the water…Zeny was making an attempt to go swimming, while Matthew was looking for shells, he told me later. I hadn't seen them around the area before; I guessed that they were on a camping trip with their parents or something, and decided to introduce myself, seeing that they might be the only people that I'd meet for quite a while.

"After I did that, I waited for their response…finally Matthew waved at me and asked me if I was on a camping trip. I told him no, I lived around these parts, and Zeny laughed and asked who would even try and live here, of all places. I had to admit that I felt kind of stupid at the time, but just as we were about to go back to what we had been doing the swimming hole just…oh, how do I explain this…kind of changed colors and started swirling around. We were greatly shocked, and had wondered what had caused that to happen, but before we could make any more sudden movements the force of the portal drew us in."

"And that's really how you met?" Jackie asked, now sounding greatly interested.

Jacqueline nodded. "We sooner or later met Fatherboard and, eventually, Codebird. They told us that cyberspace had sank into grave danger by the threat of a new villain—Machinos, of course. We headed off to stop him…we soon found out that he wasn't the pushover that Codebird described him as; then again, Codebird never did say anything about ever meeting Machinos…" She trailed off.

"So…were your adventures in cyberspace any good?" Jackie questioned.

"They were great," Jacqueline said, now sounding a bit less deep than she had been a few minutes ago. "Every time Machinos tried to vanquish a cybersite, Fatherboard would call us and we would run to stop him before he did any major damage. The cybersites were kept in perfect order…that is, until Machinos decided to kill Fatherboard and expand his army. At that moment it was no more 'Mr. Nice guy' for him; we sooner or later fell back and cyberspace fell apart. We tried our best, but Fatherboard was in despair over the fall of the world he had once protected, and he was soon killed…and it no longer mattered to him." She shook her head sadly.

"I know, I know," Inez told her sympathetically. "Zeny told me about how Fatherboard was slaughtered a few days ago."

"Yeah…"

"So…uh, what were Matthew and Zeny's lives like before you became permanently stuck here?" Jackie asked, making an attempt to quickly get the subject off of Fatherboard's demise. Jacqueline looked at her, then sighed and explained:

"Zeny never did tell me about her earth life; she always was a secretive person and she seems to enjoy it here enough to not go off on long rants about how it used to be 'back home', as I should put it. But Matthew—ah, Matthew misses his old life the most. He told me that he used to live near a horse ranch, and that he would visit the horses there every day, after his riding lessons…" She cleared her throat, then continued, "He said that his favorite horse was a black pinto by the name of 'Emerald'. He told me that he loved that horse like a sister, and if we ever visited him we would always see him riding that horse around the field." She looked over to where Skyrider was lying. "Matthew loves Skyrider as much as Emerald…he says that she reminds him of her. I don't know what he would've done if Skyrider had been killed at the day of Fatherboard's death…"

"It must've been heartbreaking for him to realize that he'll never see his horse again," Inez commented.

"Yes, it was," Jacqueline agreed, nodding. "He never did show any periods of mourning for this, but every now and then I see him lying next to Skyrider, leaning back on her side and looking up at the sky. I suppose he thinks that Emerald still knows that he's out there…"

"Cute," was Jackie's simple response to this story. She looked down at the ground, then yawned. "Guys, don't you think that we've heard enough stories for tonight? I kind of want to lie down for a while…"

"You do that," Inez told her. Jackie nodded sleepily, then got up, trudged over to the pile of dead leaves, and lay down in them, falling asleep in an instant. Jacqueline smirked, then turned back toward Zeny and Matthew, who had now gotten a small fire going with the sticks and were sitting in front of it, the flickering light bouncing off their faces every now and then.

"I hate to think what'll happen if we never do get back," Inez sighed, looking over at the flickering light as she got up from the ground and brushed the leaves off of her shirt.

"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you," Jacqueline told her, getting up. She then started to walk over to where the fire was going and said, "You've heard enough stories for tonight, Inez. Now why don't you just go to sleep? We'll let you know if any more Blind Trackers come by this area."

Inez sighed; she hated it when Jacqueline ordered her around like that, but had to admit that she was exhausted from the day's events. Lying down next to Jackie in the pile of leaves, she looked over at the light of the fire, then turned over on her back to look up at the stars, before she drifted off to sleep…


	16. Offer of Refuge

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XVI: "Offer of Refuge"

Matt woke up the next morning to the rays of the morning sun on his face. Groaning, he flopped his head to the side as so to avoid the bright light currently shining on him from his position, but it failed; he could still feel the hot rays on the back of his neck, even though the morning temperature was still at its low. He tried to get back to sleep in a different position, but he still couldn't, not with all the sunlight shining on him. Growling in both frustration and annoyance, he lifted up his arm to shield his face…which was a mistake, considering that he had been sleeping in the branches of a dead tree all night.

"ARRGH!" the boy yelled at the top of his lungs, as he lost his balance and fell from the tree to the ground below, landing in the pile of dead leaves collected by Matthew earlier with a loud _THUD_. Of course, this was right next to the spot where Jackie and Inez were lying, and, considering the fact that Matt had fallen right next to Jackie, she woke up in a heartbeat, looking around her in terror.

"What on earth—" She looked around some more, then her eyes fell upon Matt, who was lying in an awkward position in the dead leaves. "Oh," she said, her voice now teeming with a slight bout of annoyance, "Good morning, Matt."

"Ow…" Matt was in pain from the impact of the fall, but was still conscious, unlike last afternoon after what had happened with the Blind Trackers. He could still feel the tinges of pain in the areas where he had been hurt, but it was scabbed over and didn't bleed as much as it used to…for the most part, anyway. He now sat up and rubbed his head as he said, weakly, "Good morning, Jacks."

Inez was the next one to wake up, at that precise moment. Slowly opening her eyes, her gaze met the morning sky overhead; she shielded her eyes and turned over on her side…in time to see Matt and Jackie, wide awake. Groaning, she sat up, then brushed the dead leaves off of herself and said, "Hi, guys…"

"Morning, Inez," Matt said; then he got to his feet and starting picking the flecks of dead leaves off of his green sweatshirt. "Where are the others?"

"Well, I think that Jacqueline, Matthew, and Zeny are down by the fire, and Digit and Codebird…I don't know if they're awake or not yet. I'm going down to check."

Before either Matt or Jackie could make a response, Inez had pulled herself to her feet and was now heading down the gently sloping ground that they had come upon toward the area where the fire had been; the flame itself had long since extinguished, but the coals were still glowing in the early morning light. Sure enough, the three were down there; Zeny and Jacqueline were sprawled out on the ground, asleep, but Matthew was wide awake and was currently leaning against a nearby tree. He smiled and waved when he saw the girl come down into the area.

"Morning, Inez!" he called out. Inez smiled, then walked over to where he was standing and leaned against the tree next to him.

"Morning," she replied, smiling and looking over at the campsite. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I was up all night, actually," Matthew told her; Inez could now see that he sounded a bit weak. "It was my turn to serve on guard duty…you know, in case any more Blind Trackers come into the area to search for us, seeing that we already injured their leader…"

"You were up all night?" Inez asked, astonished. Being a nine-year-old, she couldn't imagine staying up all night with nothing to do but watch for dangerous things…she realized how exhausted Matthew must be feeling at the moment.

Matthew nodded, then put his hands behind his head and looked out at the campsite along with Inez. "It was my turn to do so, and I have to, unless we want to be eaten alive," he informed her. "It doesn't bother me, really. You don't have to worry about it; I think I can muster the energy to get going today."

"Well, okay…" Inez then looked over in the spot where Skyrider was lying. She was still there, sure enough, but the girl noticed that Digit and Codebird, who had been asleep next to her last night, were no longer in their original positions. 

Suddenly worried that they had been secretly been swiped from their comrades in the dead of night, she put her hand to her mouth, then looked over toward the woodland area. If they were still around…they couldn't possibly have gotten far. Not when Matthew was watching…or could they? She knew that they were sly; Zeny had told her so, so she had every reason to be worried for her bird friend and his alternate.

"Matthew?" she said, looking over at the boy. Matthew opened one eye, then made a questioning noise, as Inez continued, "Matthew, do you know where Digit and Codebird went?" She pointed over toward where Skyrider was still currently sleeping. "They're not there…"

Matthew laughed, then said, "Don't worry about them, Inez. Codebird woke up early this morning; he said that he and Digit were going down to the creek to go fishing, possibly swimming later on. Why do you want to know?"

Inez forced a laugh; she felt a bit stupid about not realizing that there was a creek near the spot where they had camped earlier, and simply replied, looking up at the sky, "Oh, no reason."

It was at that moment that there was a sound overhead, then two figures rushed by in a flurry of feathers. Sure enough, it turned out to be Digit and Codebird, who gracefully landed in front of the two; then Digit opened his mouth and deposited a half-dead carp at their feet. It thrashed around wildly as the bird fully stood up, his chest swelling with pride.

"I've caught breakfast for you guys," he said happily; then he reached down and picked up the wiggling fish. Pointing at it, he informed them, a great amount of pride in his voice, "I caught it myself this morning. Codebird taught me how to fish…I'm really getting into it."

Matthew and Inez looked at each other, both of them stifling back laughter at how Digit was currently acting, then they looked down at Digit and Codebird, who still looked quite pleased with themselves. Finally, after a long moment of silence, Inez finally reached down and patted the bird on the head.

"Uh…good job, Digit," she praised, still trying her hardest not to break into laughter. Matthew then took the fish from Digit's wing and held it up in front of his face as Inez looked at it, then at the others, then continued, "But I don't think that it's enough for all of us."

"Don't worry about it; we're on the case!" Digit replied; then he and Codebird took off into the sky and headed back toward the direction of the creek, his last words to them before he was out of sight distance "Catch you later!". Matthew watched them as they departed, then he shook his head.

"One of these days I'll finally try and understand them," he sighed. Inez laughed, then looked down in Zeny and Jacqueline's direction, just as Jacqueline stirred. Rubbing her eyes (or at least the one that was still currently in her head), she sat up, then looked over in Matthew and Inez's direction. Groggily getting to her feet, she faced them, then wearily held up her hand in the form of a greeting.

"Morning, guys," she yawned; then she looked over where Skyrider was sleeping, then at the dead fish at the two's feet. "Let me guess…Codebird and Digit went off to go fishing?"

Matthew laughed. "Yeah, they just left to get some more fish for breakfast." He then looked over toward the fire. "While they're out getting the actual food, Jacqueline, do you think that you could get the fire going again? I don't think that any of us would enjoy raw fish…"

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Jacqueline replied, still groggy; then she got down on her knees and started searching the ground. She came back up with two rather large stones in her hands, which she started to strike together in order to get some sparks going. The noise was right next to where Zeny was lying, so it was only natural that she was the one who stirred next.

"Ugh…" She shut her eyes, then turned over on her side to avoid the sun's rays, as Matt had tried to do earlier. "What time is it?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Jacqueline scoffed, as she finally struck the stones in the right place and got a small flame going. "All I know is that it's time to wake up and smell the dead leaves." She then swatted some dead leaves in her direction, allowing them to make their way into the girl's hair.

"Very funny, Jacqueline," Zeny grumbled; then she sat up and looked in the direction of the hill, where Matt and Jackie were currently coming from and toward the campsite area. They stopped in the center of the clearing that they had rested in; then Matt sat down next to Zeny and stared at the fire, while Jackie busied herself trying to fix her hair, which had become mussed the night before.

"Hi, guys," Matt said, looking over toward the spot where Digit and Codebird used to be the night before. "Hey, what happened to Digit and Codebird?"

"They went fishing," Matthew informed him, his gaze eyeing the dead fish still at his feet. "Digit and Codebird insisted that they catch us breakfast this morning."

"Well, that's a first," Jackie said, finally getting her hair up in the proper bun. "I don't know when we had something decent to eat in this place."

The others refused to answer her, and merely stood in their current positions as, after a moment's time, Digit and Codebird returned, with several more carp clamped tightly between their teeth. Taking great pride in their deed, they deposited the fish at Matthew's feet, then crossed their arms and grinned. Matthew looked at them, then down at the fish, then finally reached down and picked one up between his forefinger and thumb. He then thoroughly examined it, and dropped it on the ground, then gave them the thumbs-up sign.

"You did a great job, guys," he told them, sounding greatly satisfied. He then turned his head in Jacqueline's direction. "Jacqueline! Do you think that you could gut these fish for me?"

"Ew!" Jackie exclaimed, as Jacqueline grinned, then merely nodded her head. Matthew grinned back, then handed a fish to her; she at once pinned it down with one of her hands, and with the other took a sharp rock from the ground and sliced into the fish's stomach, cutting it open. Jackie grimaced, she hated it when Jacqueline gutted animals; she had seen enough with the bird near the river.

Jacqueline at once tore out the innards, then, depositing them in another pile of dead leaves, wiped the blood on her hands off on her skirt and picked up the sharp stone again. She then began quickly flicking it across the fish's side, scraping the scales off quite easily. She then set it aside as Matthew, once certain that she was through with that fish, tossed her another one.

"Ew, ew, ew!" Jackie exclaimed as Jacqueline sliced the next fish open. "How in the world do you manage to eat that after visibly ripping out its innards?"

Jacqueline shrugged. "I'm used to it," she replied simply, then went back to her work of gutting the dead animal. Jackie rolled her eyes, then looked over toward where the others were resting as Jacqueline did the de-scaling; then Matthew again tossed her another fish.

As she once again resumed to the job of gutting it, Zeny picked up the gutted and scaled fish, then, picking up Matthew's sword from the ground, lined up the fish in a straight line, then brought the blade down, slicing their heads off. She then leaned back and admired her work, as Jacqueline de-scaled another one, then tossed it to her. She sighed, then picked up the sword again and repeated the process.

Following this method, it wasn't long before the fish were entirely gutted. Jacqueline, after gutting the last fish, motioned the others toward her; they immediately followed suite and sat down next to her, as Zeny handed them the beheaded fish. Matt looked at his, then held it up to his face, and said, confused, "So, how are we supposed to cook them?"

"Ever had a campout?" Zeny asked, grinning. Matt, getting her message, returned the grin, then started searching the ground for a fallen dead stick. Finally finding one near where Jackie was sitting, he pulled it out from under her and speared the fish on the tip.

"So, do you do this all the time?" he asked her as he held the speared fish over the flame. Jackie, Inez, and the others had already found sticks and were now joining Matt in the cooking job. Zeny looked at him, then smiled and nodded her head.

"Unless it's raining," she told him. "Then, since we can't get a fire going, we eat fish or whatever we catch raw. It's stringier, and it tastes a bit more bland than cooked meat, but at least it's better than nothing…"

"Ew!" Jackie exclaimed yet again. "I would _never_ eat anything raw even if my life depended on it."

Jacqueline shrugged. "Your loss," she muttered; then she resumed to looking at her fish.

The fish, once held up over an open flame, cooked quite quickly, so it was only a few more moments before the group of eight was eating their catch. Digit and Codebird must've been very judgmental when it came to fishing; the fish that they had selected appeared to be very flaky. It tasted bland without the proper flavorings, but the kids hadn't had anything to eat for a while, so they didn't care. Cooked fish, even when bland, was better than nothing at all…

They were just finishing up the last of the fish when they heard a faint rustling sound over near the brush that the original sleeping quarters had been. Zeny, who so far had proven to have the best reflexes, whipped around, her gaze locked on the bushes, but nothing appeared to have stirred since the noise had sounded. The bushes were now completely still, except for the occasional gust of wind that blew the treetops every now and then.

The others, who had heard the noise too, were now looking at Zeny, their eyes wide with curiosity and, if only slightly, fear. "What did you hear?" Matthew demanded, getting to his feet and running up next to her. He then turned in the direction of the bushes. "Is it anything serious?"

Zeny shook her head. "I heard it, all right, but when I turned around I couldn't see a thing in those bushes that would possibly be making the noise. Maybe it was just the wind, or—"

They then froze as the rustling sound came yet again. Matthew, Zeny, and the others waited, standing completely still, their gaze locked on the bushes. The rustling sound came yet again, then there was a clicking sound and, a split second later, a gunshot rang out among the treetops, striking the tree near where Inez and Jackie had been sitting. Both girls gasped and looked up toward the tree; sure enough, they could see a silver bullet now wedged deeply into the trunk.

The others covered their mouths with their hands, then looked over toward the bushes yet again as another gunshot sounded, only this time it seemed to be going into the canopy above them, then, about a moment later, there was a loud yell and a tall, dark figure leapt out of the bushes, a rifle in one hand. He landed in front of them, with the barrel of the gun pointed directly in Zeny's face. It then spoke, in a warningly, rasping voice:

"Get out of here…_now_…"

Jackie opened her mouth in a silent scream, and Inez and Matt's eyes grew wide, as Digit and Codebird, out of fear, darted behind the two, violently shaking as they tried to hide themselves from the figure. Zeny gulped, as Matthew said, his voice slightly shaking as he eyed the rifle, "My sincerest apologies, sir…if we're on your property, it's only because our horse has been injured and—"

"Matthew?"

Matthew blinked, then nodded his head, and replied, "Of the Freedom Fighters? Yes, I am." He then pointed toward Zeny and Jacqueline and added, "And these are my comrades."

"Oh, Lord," the figure muttered, sounding mistaken; he then lowered the rifle. "Then the apology is mine. I thought at first that you were interlopers…"

"Well, we aren't," Matthew informed him, crossing his arms. "We're just in desperate need of refuge, possibly doctoring." His face then became set in an accusing leer. "And just who are you, dare I ask?"

The figure sighed, then said, jabbing the end of the rifle into the ground and leaning against it casually, "I'm afraid that you don't know me, I'm supposing. The name you are looking for is Jamie…Jamie Felinus." He extended his hand, which was now revealed to be padded and oddly rather furry.

Matthew looked at him, still unsure; then he finally reached forward and, clasping the fur-covered hand tightly in his, slowly shook it. Jamie then drew his hand back and took another step or two forward, allowing himself to come out of the blinding rays of sunlight and allowing the group to see him more easily.

Now seen in better light, the kids could now see clearly why his last name was "Felinus". His head, instead of appearing human or robotic, was very catlike, complete with pointed ears and a stout muzzle. He had eyes that the kids could familiarize with, they appeared to look more human than cat, and every bit of his face, his neck, and his body, for that matter, was covered in light brown fur. His body appeared very human, despite the fur, and was muscular; the kids guessed that he must've been a tough worker. He was currently dressed in old, 16th century clothing, from the tattered white shirt right down to the black belt around his waist. He was currently shoeless, and the kids could plainly see his padded feet, also covered with brown fur.

"Now," Jamie said to them, shifting the rifle up so that it was resting on his shoulder. "I heard you say that you were in need of refuge or doctoring; is that correct?"

After a few moments of staring at him, Matt finally snapped out of it, shook his head a few times, then said quickly, "Yes—I mean, uh, yeah! We're currently on the run from Machinos, and we could really use some proper—"

"Did you say Machinos?" Jamie questioned, cocking his eyebrow. Matt quickly nodded, as the cat creature then heaved a deep sigh and said, leaning against a nearby tree, "I knew that that diabolic maniac would never rest…well, if you need refuge for that case, I suppose that…" He paused for a moment; the look on his face suggested that he had second thoughts, until he finally finished, "I suppose that I can give you shelter. But only until you're well enough to get back to your travels."

"Many thanks, sir," Zeny said happily, lightly bowing to him. "Do you live near here?"

Jamie nodded, then pointed past the grove of trees. "Right in that grove over there…I've set up a nice resting quarters, I think…built it myself. But I'll tell you more when you actually get inside the place itself."

"As said before, many thanks," Zeny repeated; then she looked over in the direction of Skyrider, still currently resting. Pointing toward her, she asked, "And, could you take our horse in as well? She was injured badly by one of the Blind Trackers, and she needs care at once. We've done all we can for her, but I don't think that it's enough to—"

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure I can make some room in the stable for your horse," Jamie told her. He then set his rifle down and walked over to the spot where Skyrider was, then slowly took her reins up in his hand and gave them a gentle tug. Skyrider, recognizing this command, whinnied hoarsely, then slowly brought herself to her feet, as Zeny took the reins in her hand and gently stroked her. Jamie then walked over to where he had been standing, picked up his rifle, and said, motioning them towards him as he started up the hill, "Come on. I want you inside before anything else comes into these parts."

The kids, obeying this order, got to their feet and followed him up the hill, past the spot where Matt, Jackie, and Inez had slept, and once they were at the top Jamie immediately walked into the grove of trees; the others followed. As they walked, Jackie walked up next to Jamie and said, looking up at him:

"So, Mr. Felinus, you seem pretty familiar with Machinos…"

"Hey, who isn't?" Jamie replied, looking down at her as he walked. Jackie grinned sheepishly as the cat creature continued, "But I was something more in my previous days…I used to be on the side of the Fatherboard army before I retired…and then things started going wrong." He shook his head. "I would've loved to fight for Fatherboard in that case, but I was already a veteran then…"

"Yeah, I know," the girl replied quietly, looking down at her feet.

"Of course, that event might have spared me, but even if I was one of the fighters I doubt that any of them—specifically the General—would even bother to lay a glove on me after what happened during the Battle of Nowhere…"

"What happened there?"

"Well…how do I explain this to a child…you see, this happened about five years ago, when I was still fighting for Fatherboard. I was currently on the battlefield, hiding behind a rock near a rather large cliff, when I heard an odd noise. I looked over the rock just in time to see a fellow comrade-in-arms and a Dark Rider soldier standing near a cliff. Their swords were out, and they were fighting each other in the most drastic way…

"That was when a gray horse rode by—namely, the General's horse, at the time. The fighters were too busy to even notice the fact that he was riding past them; of course, this proved as a traumatic event yearning to happen. Sure enough, the Fatherboard soldier swung the sword, knocking the Dark Rider's out of his hand. However, what they didn't expect was for it to strike another object as it landed…namely, the horse. The blade dug straightforward into its neck, and in its dying state it lost its balance; its legs buckled out from under it and it fell forward.

"Of course, because of this the General was thrown from his horse, and as it fell to the ground, he was knocked off. I watched as he forcefully hit the ground, then, due to the fact that the fall had been strong, was nearly thrown from the cliff; he would've fallen to his death if he hadn't of remembered at the last second and grabbed the edges.

"He remained intact for a while, but it was clear that his fingers were slipping. Not wanting to see him fall, I leapt forward off the rock, dashed across the area, and grabbed his hand just as he let go entirely. Visibly trembling, he looked up at me, the look on his face wondering why I had come to his aid, being one on the opposing side.

"I ignored this, however, and pulled him up from the cliff's edge, telling him not to let go until I told him it was safe to do so. He finally released his grip from my hand as soon as we were about a yard from the cliff's edge, then he gratefully thanked me and left, promising that he would never lay a hand on me, or my family to this day…" He trailed off; a far off gaze was now cast in his eyes.

Jackie looked up at him, wondering how he could have possibly saved the life of the General, of all creatures, but refused to say anything. She then looked straight ahead as Jamie said, sounding relieved, "Well, here we are!"

Sure enough, all that Jamie had claimed was true—at the end of the rows of trees was a large, Victorian-style house, built from wood and mortar and looking as beautiful as anything in the morning light. It had a sunroof and an open porch, along with a bench swing, the kids could now see, and the windows contained perfectly clean glass. The house itself was at least two or three stories high total.

Now looking in the direction of the bench swing, Jackie could now see a black figure sprawled out on it, his back to them. As soon as it heard the sound of their approaching footsteps, however, it uncurled itself, then stretched its arms and legs out and turned around to face them.

This was another surprise for them. The figure had turned out, surprisingly, to be a Dark Rider, only it looked more lively than the ones that they had seen so far, if you could call the melancholy look on its face that. Its eyes, sure enough, had pupils, but one of them was barely visible, for the right eye was entirely sky blue. The other eye was normal, but it held a look of great sadness, which Jackie wasn't comfortable with. It was entirely black, like the other Dark Riders were, but looked more alive and Delete-like than dead and corpse-like. It now fixed its gaze on the children as they approached, then it growled warningly and hoisted its upper body up, its eyes narrowing dangerously.

Jamie noticed the robot's change of demeanor, and at once held up his paw to silence it. However, what Jackie didn't expect were the words that came from the cat creature's mouth:

"No, Paradox. These people are our friends."


	17. The Felinus Residence

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XVII: "The Felinus Residence"

At hearing these words, the defensive gaze on Paradox's face faded, and he slumped back down onto the bench swing, though he never stopped staring at them. Jackie was astounded at how the rumor that people had been speaking was true after all, but refused to make a comment as Jamie led them up the steps, then toward the doorway. Paradox raised his head up; his gaze locked onto the kids, mainly Inez, as Jamie opened the door to the house. As soon as he did this, however, another creature—it looked like Jamie, only it looked like a cross with a kitten, and was wearing a 18th century ladies' dress (it seemed about six or so years old)—ran up to the doorway and jumped onto one of the cat creature's legs, embracing it tightly.

"Daddy!" it chimed happily, in a feminine voice; the kids guessed that this must be one of his daughters. She then released her hold, and drew back in time to allow her gaze to fall on the kids. "Who are those people?"

"Anna, these are the Freedom Fighters I've been telling you about," Jamie informed her, placing his paw on her shoulder as he spoke. "Remember how I told you about how they saved Happily-Ever-After Ville from Machinos, and got rid of half his army?"

"Oh…" Anna looked at the party of eight, then said, "I thought that there were only three, not eight."

"I know, Anna," Jamie quickly replied. "These are their long-lost twins from across cyberspace…I saw them about five or six days ago during my visit at Mt. Olympus. And you remember how I told you that Codebird was kidnapped…well, he was found soon after they arrived."

Anna nodded, then tugged on her father's pant leg and said, walking into the house, "I was waiting for when you would come back for almost forever, daddy! Mamma's in the kitchen, and Tom and Ruben are outside playing war…" She then bounded energetically down the beautifully crafted wooden hallway and into another room, yelling, "Mamma! Daddy's back, and he brought the Freedom Fighters along! Come and see, Mummy, come and see!"

They then heard another voice, feminine but slightly more matured, say calmly, "Calm down, honey. I just need to finish getting the grass stains out of these shirts and—"

"Abigail!" Jamie then called, leaning the rifle against the wall as he turned his head up in the direction of the room that Anna had entered. At this, there was a pause, then a few scuffling noises, and after a while Anna came skipping out of the room, heading down the hallway toward another room. The kids watched as she departed, then turned their heads up back in Jamie's direction as another cat creature entered.

She looked almost exactly like Jamie, fur and all, except that she had dark gray fur that, like Jamie's, covered her entire body, from the tips of the ears to the bottoms of the feet. She had the build of an 18th century human woman, slender build and all, and was currently wearing, like Anna had been, a 18th century ladies' dress. It was a dull red, with white cuffs and a square collar, and was covered mostly by a white canvas apron. She now turned her head up toward Jamie, her gaze looking quite relieved, and said, "James, how nice it is to see you. I've heard rumors that Machinos was in the area and I was worried that—"

"You know that you have no need to worry about me, Abigail," Jamie reassured her, placing his paw on her shoulder, as he had done with his daughter earlier. "The General made a sure promise to me at the Battle of Nowhere that no harm will come upon either myself or any of us." He then gestured toward the kids, who were still patiently standing next to the wooden stairway set right near the front door. "As you can see, I've brought a few friends back with me from my trip. They're the Freedom Fighters that we've heard about, and they say that they're in need of serious doctoring. Do you think that you could possibly—"

"Good heavens!" Abigail exclaimed, her gaze now on the kids; then she hurried over and pulled Matt toward her, examining the deep gash wounds where Saton had bitten into him earlier. After a while she made a concerned noise, then grabbed Matt by the bottom of his now dirty and tattered sweater and started to yank it upward. Matt, in sudden realization of what was going on, gasped and tried to pull his sweater back down.

"Gah! What do you think you're doing?" he yelled, as he tried to pull away from Abigail, currently still trying to remove his sweater from his body. Jackie and Inez giggled as he made a frustrated noise, then tore away from her, straightening his sweater back out as he did so.

Abigail looked a bit taken aback for a moment, then she finally sighed and said, "Now, now, let's not get an argument started, young man. I just need your clothes in order to wash them; they're filthy…and it's not just you. I need the girls', too."

Matt, finally realizing what she was getting too, blushed in embarrassment and said, sounding just as sheepish as the look on his face was, "Oh, sorry, miss. Um…I would give you my clothes, but…uh, this is a very awkward moment to do so. Could I maybe remove them when I'm about to take a bath or something? In a private area?"

Abigail then smiled and nodded her head, as she turned around and started to walk back into the room that she had been in earlier. "I noticed that you four—" She then made hand gestures each to Matt, Jackie, Inez, and Digit—"Appear to be quite beaten, not to mention dirty, so I am to suggest a herbal soak for each of you. Sir—" She made a gesture towards Matt—"I'll have one prepared in just a few more moments…here, allow me to lead you to the area where I've stationed the bath…"

Matt looked at her, then at the others, then finally shrugged it off and walked into the room that Abigail entered, removing his tattered backpack from his shoulder and setting it in the doorway as he did so. Looking around, he could now see that it was a laundry room, no doubt; there were small piles of clothes strewn about the area, with a large wooden tub in the center. Looking into it, he could see that it was filled with soapy water, and, looking outside, he could see several lines of wet clothing hung out to dry in the midday sun.

He then heard the sound of splashing water over past the large cloth towels were draped over the indoor clothesline, and out of curiosity ran past them, only to find himself in what appeared to be a new room. Looking over, he could see Abigail standing at the edge of what looked like a large washtub; she was sprinkling some type of sweet-smelling flower into the steaming water that was currently flowing from a hollow log and into the washtub itself. A heavenly smell filled the air as he drew closer, sniffing the steam around him, until he reached the spot where Abigail was standing. She turned to look at him once she realized that he had entered the room.

"Hello, young man," she greeted, stepping down from the washtub and handing him a small, apparently homemade towel. He accepted it readily. "This is our bathing room…feel free to stay in as long as you desire. I shall provide you with new clothing after the first five minutes of your time."

"Well…gee, uh, thanks…Mrs. Felinus," Matt replied, staring in awe at the old-fashioned washtub, built into the wall…it appeared to look like something that he'd find in a spa room. "I'll be sure to…uh, cure my wounds in the time range given…"

"You do that," Abigail replied; then she started to leave the room. Right before she passed through the hanging towels that gave him his privacy, however, she noted to him, "When you undress, make sure to leave your clothes over near the boundary line between these rooms. I'll be able to pick them up easier that way."

Matt responded with a light nod; Abigail smiled, then departed from the room. Matt looked around and sighed; this was a great relief after what had been happening in the past few days, and, sitting down on the steps that led up to the washtub, untied his laces and removed one of his sneakers. He then removed the other one without much trouble, then undressed the rest of himself. Folding up his clothes, he then laid them near the nearest line of towels, then quickly stepped up onto the stairs and entered the comfortably warm waters of the bath.

It was, indeed, a very relaxing experience—the waters slightly pained his cuts, but other than that he felt terrific…better than he had felt ever since he had first come into this world. Lying his head back against the wooden edges, he sighed and looked up at the wooden ceiling, all of his worries and thoughts alike leaving his body…

He then heard the sound of something off to his right. Jolting out of his peaceful state, he quickly looked over in the direction that he had heard the noise…just in time to see yet another cat creature, only it appeared to be a male, judging by the clothes that it was wearing. It was slightly taller than Anna had been—Matt guessed that it was at least twelve—and was covered in coal black fur, instead of brown or gray. It was holding what appeared to be a wooden toy rifle in one paw; the other was jammed in his pocket. His eyes grew wide when he saw Matt looking at him.

"Sorry," he said quickly, reaching down near where Matt had folded up his clothes. "I'm just here to get your clothes for washing…"

"No, no, it's fine," Matt said quickly. He then sighed and said, "Could you at least tell your mom to leave some new clothes out for me? I think I'm planning on getting out soon…"

"Sure, I'll inform her," the cat creature replied, nodding as he picked up Matt's folded clothing. He then paused before he left. "My name is Ruben, by the way. Ruben Felinus."

"Uh…pleased to meet you," Matt replied, sounding a bit awkward and sinking lower into the water. "I'm Matt…you know, Matthew's alternate."

Ruben merely smiled and nodded, then shifted Matt's clothing under one arm and, lifting up one of the towels, quickly departed from the area. Matt sighed, then, deciding that he had had enough time in the water, slowly got out and quickly grabbed the towel from the edge. Wrapping it around himself, he looked around, then sighed and sat down on the steps, waiting for Ruben to return with some new clothing for him to wear.

Sure enough, Ruben returned a while later, carrying a bundle of his own clothes under his arm, and immediately approached Matt and thrusted them into his arms. "You're going to wear these while your clothes are cleaned…sorry if you're not familiar with it, but it's all we've got."

Before Matt could make a response, Ruben had turned around and left. Emitting a loud sigh, the boy dropped the clothes on the floor, then reached for the nearest clothing item—namely, the shirt—and pulled it on. Like Jamie's, it was white, only it was less tattered and smelled of spring air; Matt guessed that it had just come out of the wash…he then reached for the next clothing item, and slipped this on as well. When he was finished dressing himself, he stood up, then walked to the top of the wooden stairway and stared at his reflection in the herbal waters.

He could hardly recognize himself in the clothing that he was currently wearing. It was 18th century, and not 16th like Jamie's had been; he found himself now wearing a white shirt, of course, and loose brown cowhide pants instead of his original pair of jeans. He was currently shoeless, like the rest of the Felinus family; he decided that he would wait until his sneakers were cleaned of mud before he got them back on his feet. His hair was messy, he had not gotten it wet, and it stuck up in small tufts in the back of his head.

"Matt?"

The boy turned around in time to see Ruben standing near the clothesline that separated the two rooms; he now had both paws at his sides and was looking at him. Matt quickly straightened himself up and walked down the stairs, in time to see Inez and Jackie standing behind him; their hands were set patiently behind their backs, as if they were waiting for something. He guessed that they were waiting to take their turns in the water, but decided not to say anything at the time.

"Yeah, I'm finished for now," Matt told the cat creature, as he walked past the clothesline. Inez and Jackie stared at him as he left; obviously they thought that the idea of him wearing clothes that were traditionally worn at the time of the Colonies was quite humorous. Once again, the boy said nothing as he walked past the two girls and out of the room.

Matt found Jamie on the front porch of the house sometime later; he had his rifle held between his legs and was using a wet cloth to polish it. Paradox, he could see, was still lying on the bench swing; he appeared to be asleep, but at the same time didn't look at all comfortable. Every now and then he twitched violently, and his face contorted into a frightened grimace, but he couldn't seem to escape from whatever he was dreaming about. Matt, however, ignored him and sat down next to Jamie, looking up at the treetops as he did so.

"Hey, kid," Jamie said to him casually, refusing to turn his gaze up from his rifle as Matt sat down completely.

"Hey," Matt replied, then he said, "And could you please not call me 'kid'? My name is Matt, and I'd like to be called that from now on around these parts."

Jamie nodded, then set the polished rifle down on the side of the porch and placed his hands on his knees, as he looked out into the grove of trees that his house was settled in. From behind them Paradox let out a frightened whimper, then turned over on his side, provoking him to fall off of the bench swing. Matt cringed as he heard the robot hit the ground; he then looked over in the direction of the fall just in time to see the robot lying on his back on the porch, still trembling violently but now awake. He shot Matt and Jamie an anxious gaze, then quickly scrambled back up onto the bench swing, curled himself up into a tight ball, then fell back asleep, emitting a few quiet sobs as he drifted into slumber.

Matt was slightly concerned by the robot's behavior. "Does he always do that?" he asked Jamie, an uneasy gaze on his face as he looked up at the cat creature. "I mean, is there something wrong with him, or is that normal?"

Jamie looked over at Paradox, now asleep, then said to Matt, "You know, I don't exactly know what happened to make him like that. We took him in about four years ago or so, but he was a wreck when we decided to do so—he was afraid of his own shadow, even. He refused to tell us what had happened, but I knew that it must've been intense…he must've been strong at one time until Lord knows what happened to him. He's been timid and protective ever since. But he's old, and I suppose that's just how robots act when their memory starts to dim."

Matt nodded, then looked up as he heard footsteps on the porch, just in time to see Inez and Jackie walk out. They were dressed in new clothing as well; Inez was wearing a long white dress, while Jackie was wearing a sky blue dress with a dark blue vest to match. Her hair was currently down, and fell down to her shoulders, exactly like Jacqueline's was, but that was to be fixed, he guessed. Jackie hardly ever wore her hair down; it just didn't seem natural if she did so now.

"Hi, Matt!" Jackie greeted; she then turned around to show off the clothing that she was wearing. "Is this a cute dress or what? It'll definitely do until my clothes are clean, don't you think?"

Matt looked at her for a moment, he seemed lost for words, then he finally nodded his head and said quickly, "Yeah, it looks great. I'm sure that everyone else thinks so…"

Jackie smiled at him, then looked up past the grove of trees that the two boys were currently looking out on. "Do you guys see anything out there?"

Jamie shook his head. "It seems pretty peaceful out there today…but I'm sure that it won't last for long. A peaceful moment is almost always shattered by a disruption, and I'm sure that the same will happen for today. It never fails…I have a lot of army stories based on that theory."

Matt was about to ask what stories he had from his days in the Fatherboard army when Matthew arrived in the open doorway, and, leaning against it, called out to the others:

"Guys! Abigail wants you to come in now. She says that she wants to talk to you…"

"So, what brought you to these parts?" Abigail asked later on, taking a sip of the tea that she was currently holding in her hand. It was now later in the evening, and the kids, their alternates, and the Felinus family were sitting in the main room, drinking the tea that Abigail had prepared earlier and resting on the old-fashioned couches lined up near the picture window. Digit and Codebird were already asleep near the picture window, looking rather peaceful as they dreamt. Matthew, Jacqueline, and Zeny were seated on one side of the couch, and Matt, Inez, and Jackie—still in their old-style clothes—were seated on the other side of the couch. Ruben, Tom, and Anna were seated in another couch near the now crackling fireplace, and Abigail and Jamie were sitting on the couch opposite them. The moonlight shone through the window, but it was barely visible due to the combined light of the fire and the kerosene lamps set on the beside tables.

At first none of the kids could speak, for fear of accidentally mentioning the Portal of Forty (as Digit had done earlier in the Machinos mines), then Matthew finally spoke up, setting his tea down next to one of the lamps, "Well, you see, Mrs. Felinus, we never exactly meant to travel the forest in the first place." He played with his fingers for a while, then continued, "Well, it's kind of like this…uh, how do I explain this correctly…well, our long-lost twins came—" He abruptly cleared his throat as he glanced in the Cybersquad's direction—"And, you see, they were kind of lost. Their bird got captured soon afterward by Machinos, and after they managed to escape I decided that it wasn't safe if Machinos wanted them that badly. So we've decided to set out for the far end of the forest, or wherever our destination may be later on, to try and get them home before Machinos finds them and kills them."

Abigail nodded, then set her own cup down and said, folding her hands together, "I see. We know very well how heartless Machinos can be, and we wish you the best of luck when you are able to set out again."

"Many thanks, Miss," Matthew replied, nodding. He then picked his cup back up and took another sip of it as he said, "So…how long have you lived here?"

"About five or six years, I think," Abigail replied. "Ever since Jamie became a war hero we've needed to live out where there was action, and not in the center of a town—Jamie's always hated towns for some odd reason…" She looked at Jamie, then continued, "But that's not important, dear…"

"It's personal information," Jamie told them. "If I told you in front of the children, of all things, I don't think that you'd be able to escape it in your dreams…it was a horrible sight. I still have nightmares about it…"

"Tell 'em about Pet, Daddy!" Anna piped up. Jamie looked down at her; the Cybersquad did the same, as Anna finished, "Come on, Daddy, tell them more about Pet! Tell them how he protects us!"

Jamie abruptly cleared his throat, then patted her on the head and said, softly, "They already know about 'Pet', Anna. I'm sure that they'll find out more later on; something tells me that they might be staying here for quite a while…" He then looked out the picture window and said, picking her up, "It appears to be past your bedtime anyway. Come on, Anna, let's go up to bed."

Tom and Ruben smiled as Anna was shifted to Jamie's shoulder, as if mocking her, until Jamie spoke up, as he started to walk near the stairway, "You too, Tom. Come here."

Ruben smirked at his brother as Tom, who was about the same age as Anna and had white speckled fur, scowled and got to his feet, then walked off after his father. Jackie looked up at them, then suddenly said, getting to her feet, "Mrs. Felinus, is it okay if I go upstairs with Jamie and the others?"

Abigail looked at her, then simply nodded, said "Go ahead, dear", and resumed to drinking the remainder of her tea. Jackie smiled, then, taking care not to trip over the hem of her dress, ran across the room and toward the stairway, where Jamie was already carrying Anna up to the room, with Tom trailing behind, the disappointed scowl still clearly on his face.

As Jackie started up the stairs, lifting up the hem of her dress with one hand, Jamie looked down at her, then smiled; she guessed that he knew what she was planning on doing. He said nothing, however, and continued to walk up the stairs, until he gripped the railing and swung himself to the side. Jackie and Tom quickly followed him, only they didn't abruptly swing, and the girl soon found herself on the upper floor of the house, if nowhere else.

It was just as beautiful as the lower floor was, or so she thought. It reminded her of old 1700s houses, complete with a smooth wooden floor, a window at the end of the hallway, and dark blue, white edged painting. She looked around as Jamie turned to the side, and entered the room nearest them; Tom followed. Jackie quickly stepped after them, and found herself in what apparently was the bedroom; the bed was a bit of a giveaway in this case. She watched as Jamie walked over, then set Anna down on the bed, and motioned Tom over toward him. Tom sighed, then walked over and got into the bed after his sister.

Jamie then pulled the blankets up over them, as any parent would do with kids of that age, then kissed them both on the forehead (reminding Jackie sadly of her own world), as Anna said, "Daddy, what if Machinos comes in here? I've been having nightmares about him and I don't like it…"

Jamie smiled as he reached over near the kerosene lamp kept on the beside table, then shook his head and said, "I don't think that Machinos would come near this household, Anna…I can assure you that I've made sure Machinos doesn't come around here." Jackie smiled as he said this and leaned against the doorway; obviously Jamie was referring to when he had saved the life of the General five years ago.

Anna smiled warmly at him as Jamie turned out the light, then walked back through the doorway, smiling at Jackie before he descended back down the stairs. Jackie smiled back, then looked back in on the bedroom as Anna and Tom lay awake in the dark; like all little kids they couldn't get to sleep right away. The girl looked in on them for a few more moments, then finally walked in, and sat down on the stool kept next to the bed.

Anna was the first to notice that she was there. "What are you doing here?" she asked, out of curiosity rather than lack of etiquette. Jackie smiled, then spoke her reply:

"I'm not here to bother you or anything…just try and get to sleep, or something."

There was a moment of silence, then Tom finally spoke up, putting his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner. "As soon as I'm old enough, I'm planning on being a rebel. I'll show Machinos who's really the boss around here…he's got no right to try and push people around like he does now."

Jackie nodded. "You do have a point," she agreed, "but if something could truly be done about Machinos I think that someone would've killed him years ago. Machinos is an all-powerful being from what I've seen; if an entire army can't stop him, I don't see how one person can."

"Well, by the time I'm older they'll probably have devised a plan to get rid of that jerk," Tom replied stubbornly. "I don't care how long it takes, Machinos is going to die. And then all of cyberspace won't have to flee for their lives at the mere mention of his name."

"Yeah," Anna added, "And no one will have nightmares about him anymore. One time I had this scary dream about him killing my dad and then taking all of us captive. I keep having that dream whenever people talk about Machinos…I don't see why he has to kill people just to make himself happy. There are other ways to do that."

"Yeah, I'm sure that there is," Jackie replied, unable to shake the thought that she was acting exactly like this kid's mother from her head. "But I wish that Machinos actually knew that; maybe then he'd stop…"

"He'll never stop," Tom replied; he was now starting to sound tired. "Machinos will always be a horrible, disgusting villain, and there's nothing that we can do to change that…except maybe me…as soon as I'm old enough to handle a real gun I'll show Machinos a thing or two…I'm gonna be just like you and your friends…"

Then there was silence. Jackie looked over at the two and saw that, in their moment of conversation, they had both fallen asleep like the kids that they were. Jackie smiled, unable to shake the thought that they were kind of cute as well, and pulled the blankets up. She then stood up, took one last look at them, then quietly left through the doorway and stepped down the stairs back to where the rest of the group was…

**_He spent his whole life being too young_**

To live the life that's in his dreams

At night he lies awake and he wonders,

Why can't that be me?

'Cause in his life he's filled with all these good intentions

He's left a lot of things he'd rather not mention 

Right now

Just before he says good night,

He looks up with a little smile at me and he says

If I could be like that

I would give anything 

Just to live one day in those shoes

If I could be like that

What would I do, what would I do, yeah

Now and dreams we run

She spends her days up in the North Park

Watching the people as they pass

And all she wants is just a little piece of this dream

Is that too much to ask

With a safe home, and a warm bed

On a quiet little street

All she wants is just that something to hold onto,

That's all she needs

Yeah

If I could be like that

I would give anything

Just to live one day in those shoes

If I could be like that

What would I do, what would I do

I'm falling into this, in dreams

We run away

If I could be like that

I would give anything

Just to live one day in those shoes

If I could be like that

What would I do, what would I do

If I could be like that

I would give anything

Just to live one day in those shoes

If I could be like that

What would I do, what would I do

If I could be like that

I would give anything

Just to live one day in those shoes

If I could be like that

What would I do, Lord, what would I do

Falling in

I feel I'm falling in

To this, again


	18. Paradox

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XVIII: "Paradox"

As soon as the lights in the windowsills had flickered out after a few moments, Paradox, who was still sprawled out on his bench swing on the porch, finally emitted a depressed yawn, then turned back over on his side. He had tried to sleep during that day, but he just couldn't help unearthing those past memories…of Machinos…of the fire…of the screams of the riders as they were reduced to nothing but a rotting pile of ashes. He had refused to stray out into the forest after he had heard of what had become of them, and the mere image of those poor creatures rotting away within the soil was just too much for him to take. He was sure he would cry if he got at least one glimpse; after all, those burnt robots on the field used to be his friends…his comrades…

Drawing in a shaking breath, he let it out in a sob, then turned over again so that his gaze was rested on the perfectly laid floorboards below him. He loved the Felinus family…after he had escaped they took him in, and had continued to feed and shelter him in exchange for the protection that they would get and had gotten from him. However, within his soul he was a timid coward, and there was no hiding this when it came to night. His spirit had been shattered ever since the General had turned on him. Why did he do something like that? They used to be such good friends, before envy got the better of one—

He halted his thoughts immediately as he heard the sounds of light stepping on the patio. Pricking himself up, he sat up and looked around, in time to see a dark figure standing on the porch, near the entrance to the doorway. Whimpering, he drew back as the figure stepped closer, then he let out a soft cry as it finally extended its frail, tan colored hand and softly touched his cheek. A few tears formed in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall, as the figure, now revealed to be Inez, slowly sat down, then smoothed out the hem of the white dress she was still currently wearing.

"What do you want?" Paradox asked miserably, putting his head in his hands and looking out toward the now pitch-black depths of the forest. Inez was speechless for a few moments, then she finally spoke, smoothing her dress out yet again as she stared into the forest along with Paradox:

"I'm just here to visit you. Matt and Jackie are already asleep, and so are Digit, Codebird, and the other alternates as well. Ruben, Jamie and Abigail went to bed a few minutes ago, and the kids are already asleep…what's wrong with you?"

She had said this on account of the tears that were beginning to brim the robot's eyes yet again. Looking miserably at her, he sniffed once or twice, then wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his shirtsleeve and said, his voice sounding just as sad as his face, "I—I'm fine, really. I just—I just get depressed at night…when I think about what happened in the past, and it just hurts me…it hurts me so much…" He sniffed again, and a tear ran from his vivid blue eye, staining the wood below them. Inez softly placed her hand on his shoulder, then spoke, out of sympathy for the robot:

"Oh, I'm sorry…I didn't know about that…"

"It's fine, really," Paradox replied; he then sighed and looked out toward the woodlands. "It's just that—what happened back at Crucible Grounds was terrible, and I really try to remove them from my head…think about things that have happened in my life that might possibly brighten my day…but every time I think about it, the memories always come back. The happiest memories I have are those I spent with—with—" More tears formed in his eyes, and Inez, sensing that he was going to start crying, gently wrapped her arm around him. Paradox paused through his verge of tears to touch his hand to hers, then he stifled himself and said, even more miserably than he had sounded before, "I'm sorry…I just can't control myself at times like these…"

"It's fine," Inez replied softly, as Paradox removed his hand from hers. "I understand how it feels to lose one dear to you, and I understand how painful it is when one is lost. I had the same experience with my grandfather…"

Paradox gave her a weak smile through his tears, then he finally took a deep, shaky breath and said, folding his hands in his lap, "So…what's your name, little girl? I don't think that I've seen you around here before."

Inez smiled on account of his unnoticing, then she finally replied, "It's Inez, Paradox. Feel free to call me that from now on, if you would be so kind."

Paradox forced a small smile and nodded, then turned to look back at the forest, letting out another saddened sigh as he did so. Inez removed her arm from around him, then looked out toward the forest as well, a blank look on her face. Finally she turned to him and said, in a hushed whisper, "What do you see out there?"

Paradox turned to look at her, then finally said, in a voice so timid and quiet that Inez had to strain to hear it, "I don't know. I just…see things…and remember…what happened in there. I don't like it, but I can't help thinking it. It's like thinking about something that happened in your life that you want to forget, but no matter how hard you try you just can't let it go. I have too many experiences from my past to even be happy anymore. I want to, but I can't…"

"May I ask what?"

Paradox shot her a melancholy gaze, then took a deep breath and finally said, "It's a bit of a long story…are you sure that you've got the time to hear it? I mean, everyone else is asleep."

"Trust me, Paradox," Inez replied gently, placing her hand on his shoulder as she spoke. "In this universe, I have all the time I could possibly need. Now, please, go ahead and tell me what there is to know. Maybe I can do something about it."

"Thank you," Paradox replied quietly, breaking out into another small smile, "But I don't think that there's anything that you can do." He patted her hand. "You see—" The look on his face had once again turned to one of depression—"It started a long time ago…about four or five years, I recall. Before that, the General and I used to do things all the time, until the day came that he finally betrayed my trust. I didn't know it until it was too late…"

"The General…" Inez seemed to have a far-off look on her face as she said these two words. "He betrayed you..." Paradox nodded. "How like him," she finally scoffed angrily, looking out in the direction of the forest along with the robot.

"He didn't always use to be that way," Paradox informed her, the look on his face becoming even more contorted with sadness. "Before…I think it was eight years, to be exact…we used to be comrades. The General and I did nearly everything side by side; I was the spy, he was the artillery. Every time Machinos wanted us to go somewhere, do something, we went off on our horses. Neither of us left the other behind. We used to be the greatest friends…he was almost like an older brother to me. I knew my way around, but he was the one who showed me every landmark in the area. I had a great sense of navigation, but he had better. He taught me everything there is to know about the Machinos army, and I listened whole-heartedly. We used to love to fight, and we would always try to best our foes either way. There was hardly anything that could stop us combined."

He sighed, then rested his hands behind his head and continued, now looking up at the star-lit heavens as he continued: "Then, about three or four years later, several guards started to report on the grounds about a group of soldiers threatening to put Machinos to death—frankly, now I wouldn't care a night if it actually went through. Machinos, of course, was enraged, and ordered to have all the soldiers that had accused him put to death in the field now known by all as 'Crucible Grounds'. Being a soldier spy, of course I was one to be suspected at all times; I was very secretive about what was going on with me. I was also next to the front of the battalion when it came to fights, and fought quite well, I might add. Of course, Machinos praised me for my excellent takings, and even though I was great at decoding expressions I just couldn't figure out what was going on with the General when Machinos awarded me a medal for my previous victory."

Inez looked surprised as Paradox informed her of this. "Machinos awards medals?"

Paradox nodded. "They're not like peace medals or reward medals, however…they play a very important role in the rank of a Machinos soldier. Machinos rarely rewards medals to anyone, for that matter, and when one gets a medal, it's a great accomplishment."

"But what does it mean?"

"It means…well, it technically means that one has been promoted to rank. I used to be a soldier, and with the reward of that medal he was now making me a rank higher. He placed it around my neck without so much as a word, but out of the corner of my eye I could just make out the General; he had a look on his face that I had never seen before in my life…

"I couldn't describe it, exactly, but I was soon to find out what it meant, for soon after I had left, I heard the General and Machinos talking in one of the other rooms. They were talking in some type of language that I didn't fully understand, and were doing it so fast that I couldn't make out a thing. However, I did catch Machinos's scream of rage, and I cringed as I heard him slam his sword to the ground. It made a deafening noise; I was immediately out of there the moment that they came down the hallway for fear of being blamed."

Inez nodded, trying to hang onto every word that Paradox said in hopes that she could find out more about Machinos, as Paradox drew in another deep breath, then continued, this time sounding a bit frightened, "I remained in my bunk with the other soldiers until morning, when Machinos and the General called us to the front rank. Some of the soldiers were wondering what was going on; I wondered the same thing, until Machinos finally shouted, in a rather cold tone that I've never heard him use before in front of us, 'we are to go into the forest at once. There is something that needs to be done, and we need you to do it. Move out!'

"We of course followed the orders given to us, and rode our horses out into this very forest. Machinos and the General led the way for a while, then he suddenly cut off, leaving us lost for the time being. We wandered around until we found ourselves in a large clearing, one that I'd never seen before. The other riders and I were looking around in such pleasure at the huge trees that were stationed around the clearing, and it seemed peaceful…that is, until we heard a frightened whinny as a gunshot rang out from beneath the trees; it just missed one of my comrades' heads.

"Of course, that got both us and our horses uneasy…they began backing into the clearing as the shots continued, from all angles, whinnying with all their might, pawing the air, and looking around in fear—the horses, that is. The riders were almost identical to their steeds, however, and I stood in the center, wondering what was going on over all the noise…" His face then became contorted with both fright and sadness as he choked out, "Then…then it happened."

"What happened?" Inez asked curiously, resting her head on Paradox's shoulder out of exhaustion as she spoke; as the night waned she was starting to become tired. Paradox looked at her, then, trying to stifle back the frightened tears that were forming in his eyes again, tried to continue his story.

"I heard someone scream in horror—I wasn't sure if it was a rider or a horse, they all sound alike to me—and I quickly turned my head in time to see a large flame rise up from beneath the trees. I too emitted a frightened scream, and several of the riders, just as frightened as I was, tried to break away and run to another side of the clearing. They failed, however, for the moment that their horses reached that designated spot, it too caught on fire. We didn't know where it had come from, but we were all terrified…we knew that if we didn't do something soon we'd burn to death.

"I seemed to be able to think the fastest in that situation, for just as the flames started to close in on the riders, I turned my horse around toward the other side and rode her toward the flame at breakneck speed. I was sweating like a pig, then…I thought that I wasn't going to make it; the flames were getting quite close to the spot where I wanted to leap…but I managed to make the jump without so much as a lick of flame grazing me or my horse, for that matter. She landed about three feet from where the fire was, and I could only watch helplessly as everyone that I had once known…every one of my comrades…they were all still caught in the ring of fire, screaming, screaming…" He emitted a loud, choking sob, as a few tears fell from his eyes. Inez looked up at him, then sadly placed her hand on his, in hopes of comforting him. She knew that it wouldn't work, however; it hardly ever worked with depression such as what she was witnessing right now.

Paradox gently wrapped his hand around hers, then rested his head on her shoulder as he managed to choke out through his tears, "And after that—after all that…I never saw him again. I didn't care, though…after all the stories I've heard about them during my stay here, I knew that something had changed about him…about _them_. The General suddenly hardened toward everyone, and everything…I don't know why…I don't know why he did this to me…" He sobbed again, then added, "And the riders…after the burning, they changed. They seemed to become lifeless beings from the way that the people talked about them…no sense of emotion, speech, protest, anything. I don't know…I don't know why…" He abandoned all usage of words and continued to sob. Inez gently reached her other hand up toward his head and stroked his cheek gently, in sympathy toward him…now she knew why he had always been seen looking so depressed earlier…

"You must know something about the General that I don't…" she whispered softly. Paradox looked up at her, his face tear-streaked, then miserably nodded, trying his best to control himself.

"I remembered him since my first day serving there…he became nameless to the world after everything that he had done, but he still has a name to me…" He swallowed, then continued, "His name used to be Praefectus…Praefectus Bombilare, his full name was. We called him 'Pray' for short. Of course, it never exactly suited him; ever since his creation he had always had a deathly fear of cathedrals, of any kind…he never told me why. He probably never will, seeing that he's already betrayed my trust—" He was cut off by another sob.

"Hush," Inez said softly, trying to stop him from emitting loud sobs due to the fact that the alternates, Matt, Jackie, Digit, and the Felinus family were currently asleep. She looked up toward one of the currently dark windows, then back at Paradox. "I know what it's like to have someone betray you…everyone has. But I'm sure that if the General remembers what he had done to you, he'll ask your forgiveness. If you two used to be as good friends as you said that you were, he'll at least try."

"He's forgotten…I'm sure that he's forgotten…"

"Give it a chance. Just give it a chance."

Paradox was silent after this. Inez sighed, trying to think of some way to possibly cure him of his current depression, then finally turned her gaze up toward the stars currently over her head. Despite the fact that she was in an entirely different universe, she still familiarized with some of the constellations currently up there, and she then remembered what Jacqueline had told her earlier, while they were still setting up camp in the forest last night:

"_I suppose that he thinks that Emerald still knows that he's out there…"_

Finally thinking up an idea, she tapped Paradox, who was now looking down at the porch ground, on the shoulder. When the robot looked up at her, she gave him a quick smile, then finally pointed up toward the stars, to the nearest constellation that she could think of. "Paradox, do you see that cluster of stars over there? The one with the bright star in the center?"

Paradox looked up at her, then finally looked up in the direction that she was pointing and finally said, turning to look at her again, "So? What does that constellation have to do with anything?"

"Well, was the Gen—er, 'Pray', ever considered a stargazer when you knew him?"

Paradox thought for a moment, then finally nodded. "I do recall nights when we used to walk out on the grounds in order to keep the others at bay. And every time we passed the iron binds in the fence, he'd point up at the brightest star currently there. His words were always the same…and I quote, 'when I leave, that's where I'm headed'. He was unaware of the fact that we were sided with pure evil…" He trailed off.

Inez's response was a simple nod; she then lowered her arm and said, staring directly into his eyes as she spoke, "We all look at the same stars, Paradox. And if the General was like that when you were still comrades, I'm sure that he still looks at the stars every now and then. And he probably thinks that you're dead; maybe that's why he's forgotten all about you. But you both look at the same stars, and even though he's unaware of it, that's something very special."

Paradox looked at her a moment, then finally wiped the remaining tears from his eyes with the back of his shirtsleeve and looked back up toward the constellation that Inez had pointed at. He then closed his eyes and murmured a few words that Inez could not understand, and turned back to her. Then, without warning, he gently placed his hand on hers again and, reaching out, kissed her on the cheek. A bit shocked, the girl nearly fell backward, then finally regained her balance and stared at him, her eyes wide.

Paradox, finally noticing the look on her face, clapped both of his hands to his mouth, then finally said, sounding a bit embarrassed, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean for that to happen—"

"It's fine, Paradox," Inez replied, rubbing her cheek where the robot had kissed it in both surprise and shock. She then weakly laughed and said, "I suppose that after that, I kind of…well, needed that."

Paradox smiled weakly at her, then continued to stare up at the stars, as Inez finally gave into sleep. Resting her head on his shoulder, she yawned, then her eyes shut and she drifted off, underneath the blanket of stars that covered the alternate world…

Miles away, however, all was not peaceful within the depths of the forest. A flock of birds rose up from the trees, cawing madly, as a group of three or four horses came galloping into the field. Whinnying madly, they slowed to a halt as their riders jerked the reins, then the one in front dismounted. Walking over into the clearing, it approached the bloody carcass of a Blind Tracker, then slowly bent down and felt it. It then stood up and cursed.

"They've been here, all right," it said, in a familiar cold tone, "But it's stone cold. There's no chance that we could find them at this rate…"

"Sire!" The General then came dashing through the trees, at breakneck speed, followed by one or two Dark Riders, still seated atop their horses. He slowed to a halt at the top of a hill, then finally said, panting as his master looked up at him, his arms crossed and his mouth set in a thin line, "Sire, we've found one of 'da campsites not too far from here. 'Dere's a trail of blood leading from 'da carcass all 'da way into there. It's been abandoned, but 'da fire ashes looked like 'dey had just burnt out. And if 'dat's 'da case, there's a good chance 'dat 'dey haven't gone too far."

Machinos gravely nodded, then said, "Well, it can't do us much good if it's been abandoned. Did you find anything else besides that? Did the trail of blood end there, or did it go further into the forest?"

The General paused while thinking, then finally called down, "We've run a thorough search of 'da area, sire, and we indeed found some more blood droplets. They seem to have led into an area over 'dat high hill near 'da creek."

Machinos nodded again; he seemed deep in thought. "I do recall a residence in that area, General. You know this forest like the back of your hand, I presume; now, can you inform me who you think lives within that area?" He broke out into a sly grin as he said these last words.

The General stared at him for a moment; he appeared dumbfounded, then finally said, his voice sounding a bit uneasy, "Uh…Jamie Felinus, sire. 'Da Fatherboard veteran, I recall…"

"Ah, good, you still have it. Now, do you presume that you can tell me a bit about him?"

"A bit! Sire, I can tell you 'da length of his fur."

Machinos said nothing, but continued to flash his eerie grin at him, until he finally said, still sounding as calm as ever, "Very good…now, can you tell me if he has a family of any kind?"

The General thought for a few more moments, then finally said, a slightly worried look on his face, "Uh, yes, sire…he has a wife and…two kids, I think. But sire, children aren't worth your skill—"

He stopped dead when he saw Machinos break out into an evil, bone-chilling smile, showing every one of his glistening, not to mention sharp, teeth. The General continued to look at him as his master—a complete silhouette except for his teeth and eyes—grinned up at him, then finally said, in a cold-as-ice tone that made a chill run down his spine:

"Lead the way, General. Lead the way."


	19. The Raid

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XIX: "The Raid"

It was early morning—still dusk, in fact—when Anna, who had been asleep for most of the evening, finally stirred. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes, then looked over at Tom, who was still asleep beside her, then over at Ruben, who was slumped against the wall, next to a wooden rocking horse that was kept near the doorway. The only sounds in the room were the sounds of the boys' peaceful breathing; that and the crickets currently chirping and the birds cawing madly outside.

Emitting a yawn, she blinked a few times, then swallowed; her throat felt dry. What she needed was some water, she supposed, and decided to go downstairs and get some in order to get herself back to sleep. Taking care not to stir Tom or Ruben, for that matter, she slowly got up, then steadily stepped over Tom and jumped from the bed, nearly landing on her back in the process. She let out a short gasp, then finally steadied herself and, slowly stepping past Ruben, made her way down the hallway and to the top of the stairs.

Quickly descending in the only way that she could—namely, sitting down and putting her feet down on one step at a time—she left the flight of stairs and halted as soon as she entered the main living room, which led into the kitchen, where most of the day's water was kept. She had to step carefully in here as well, seeing that it was where most of the party was currently sleeping, then took a flying leap over Matthew (who was sprawled out on the ground) and entered the kitchen.

It was darker than she had normally expected it to be at this hour; the only source of light was the moonlight streaming through the window, leaving a four-square pattern in the center of the floor. Stepping across the floor, she lifted up one of her feet and shuddered; it was colder in here than she had expected, as well. Wondering to herself if the floor was always like this on fall nights, she ignored the icy feeling of the stone and walked over toward the wooden bucket where the water was kept. Normally it was rationed daily, due to the fact that creek water wasn't always that hygienic, but she figured what with how dry her throat was now, they could make an exception in this case.

Once there, she then hoisted herself up onto the table using the aid of one of the room's chairs, then lifted up the wooden spoon that was used for drinking. Dipping it into the water, she lifted it up to her lips and took a gulp of the liquid…and that's when she finally heard it.

Looking up from the cup, she set her eyes in a confused look, then lowered it and looked out the window, in the direction that the noise was currently coming from. She couldn't see much due to the darkness that had befallen the area, but when she leaned over further she could make out a group of six or seven figures, barely visible from their current distance, riding toward their residence. At first she thought that it was no big deal; it was probably just a group of travelers making their nightly rounds (they received visitors a lot), but when she heard another noise besides the far-off whinnying of the horses and the clopping of their hooves, she gasped and nearly spit out the water still currently in her mouth.

Out of shock, she fell backward, landing on her back in the center of the floor, but she was so terrified by what she had heard that she didn't care much. Gasping in fright, she quickly pulled herself to her feet and, trying her hardest not to scream for fear of waking up the kids and their alternates, quickly dashed up the stairway and, running down the hallway, burst into her parents' bedroom and, still gasping, ran up to the bed and shook the nearest parent—namely, Abigail.

"Ugh…" Abigail stirred as Anna shook her, then blinked a few times and turned over toward Anna's direction. She then rested her head on the pillow and muttered groggily, "Anna, dear, what is it? Did you have another nightmare?"

Anna, still terrified, quickly shook her head. "Mommy, it's Machinos…he's outside."

At the very mention of Machinos Abigail's eyes widened; she then raised her head one or two inches from the pillow and said, sounding a little frightened herself but still trying to keep things under control, "Honey, I'm sure it was just a nightmare…you know how you're been having recurring nightmares about Machinos lately…just go back to sleep and in the morning—"

"No, Mommy," Anna interrupted, not sounding the least bit convinced. "Mommy, I swear that I saw Machinos—he was coming up the path toward our house, Mommy. He has a group of five or six others with him; I didn't bother to count…please, you've got to believe me this time. It wasn't a dream, I swear it wasn't."

"Honey—"

"Listen!" Anna said, trying her best to hush her in order for her to hear the oncoming noises. "Just listen…I know that I heard noises when I went down to get a drink…"

Abigail looked at her daughter, the look on her face suggesting that she wasn't about to take her excuse, but after a moment of silence she finally heard a horse emit a high-pitched neigh from off in the distance. It echoed throughout the treetops, then all was still. This didn't arouse her, however, but it was then that she heard the noise that Anna had heard downstairs…the sound of metal clanking against a solid object. She had heard this noise only once or twice, but even then she dreaded it: the clanking of a sword…the sword of a warrior…

"Oh, sweet heavenly God," Abigail murmured; she then turned over and, placing her paw on Jamie's shoulder, gently shook him. The cat creature groaned, then finally opened one eye and stared groggily at his wife and child. He then blinked a few times, and was about to turn over and go back to sleep when he, too, heard the clanking noises. His eyes popped open almost instantly, and he leapt up from the bed—Anna could now see that he was still fully clothed—and ran to the open window, keeping his head inside for fear of the oncoming party catching sight of him.

He cursed under his breath as he finally got a glimpse of who exactly the party consisted of. "I knew it…why is it that I'm always right when it comes to these things?" He tore away from the window, as Abigail lifted Anna up in her arms and got to her feet. "Abigail, I need you to get the kids and go downstairs. Immediately. That party is made up of Machinos soldiers, but that isn't the worst of it; I won't say anything more. Just get downstairs."

"But James, you know Machinos…what if he finds us? We'll be cornered…besides the stairs in that area there's no other escape—"

"Just get downstairs! I'll try to fend them off, but I'm not sure if I can make any promises concerning the chance that everyone will survive. And yes, Abigail, I do know what Machinos is made of. Which is all the better that you get downstairs."

Anna threw her arms around her mother's neck and started whimpering; Abigail hushed her, then quickly departed from the room in order to go and retrieve Tom and Ruben from the children's bedroom. Jamie sighed, then, taking one last look toward the open window, quickly bolted out of the room, heading in the direction of the stairs…

Outside on the front porch, meanwhile, Inez was still silently sleeping on Paradox's shoulder, while Paradox, who had come close to falling asleep himself, was leaned against the back of the bench swing, his arm gently wrapped around the girl as he slowly began to nod off. However, this was not to last long, for the pawing of the horses' hooves on the dirt road could be heard even louder from outside, and he was jolted awake when one of the horses emitted another high-pitched whinny. Blinking a few times, he looked around, then, finally catching sight of the advancing shapes, paled slightly and removed his arm from around Inez.

This caused Inez to stir, now; she slowly opened her eyes and, blinking a few times, as Paradox had, looked out toward the direction of the forest, her eyes still half closed groggily. When her gaze fell on Paradox's terrified expression, she opened her eyes completely and said, sounding rather concerned for the robot, "What is it? What's going on?"

Paradox turned his gaze toward her; his eyes looked fearfully sunken in the current lighting conditions. "Machinos," he said quietly, as a few more tears started to well up in his frightened eyes. "He's coming this way…and he has a group of soldiers with him…"

Inez looked shocked. _What could he want_? She asked herself, within the depths of her mind, but she suddenly knew the answer. Machinos had probably found something that told him the kids, along with their alternates, were somewhere in the area, and were going to find them and most likely kill them on the spot. She swallowed, then looked up in the direction that Paradox was looking, her eyes wide with horror as she eyed the advancing shapes on the darkened horizon.

"We have to do something," she finally declared, getting to her feet, her gaze never leaving the oncoming Machinos soldiers. "We just can't stand here and allow him to get away with this…"

"What can we do?" Paradox said softly, his eyes still frightened, and his voice sounding very far off. "What can we do? Nothing…Machinos is all-powerful…he doubts the Savior…the only thing he worships is himself. I have not the nerve to follow in his tracks…I have not the nerve to face the sword. Those days are over…over…" He trailed off as he continued to eye the soldiers, particularly the one in front; Inez could guess precisely whom he was staring at.

"But we can't just—" she began to state, but her voice was drowned out by the loud ring of a gunshot; it sounded as if it were coming from somewhere inside the house. She jumped in surprise—Paradox was unfazed—then in confusion looked up toward the upper areas of the house, trying to locate where the gunshot had come from. She finally sought out Jamie, who was leaning out of one of the upper windows, a rifle concealed in one hand. He now lowered it, smoke rising from the barrel, and although Inez wasn't completely sure of it due to his current altitude, that and the darkness, his eyes were narrowed in a vengeful glare.

She then looked back in the direction of the Machinos soldiers; apparently the gunshot had spooked their horses slightly, they were now pawing the ground with their front feet and tossing their heads. The shadowed figures on the horses were trying to calm their steeds; the only one who hadn't seemed to faze was the one in the lead. Inez opened her mouth slightly at the sight of the horse, standing as still as if it were a granite statue, all four of its feet on the ground. She knew who was leading, and she suddenly realized that the steed was just as lifeless and cold as its master was. Machinos hadn't been spooked the least by the rifle shot, and was now gazing straight ahead; his eyes appeared to be scanning the area, but, due to the darkness, naturally, she couldn't be entirely sure of that theory.

She placed her hand upon her mouth, then slowly looked over in Paradox's direction…in time to find out that he had vanished from the area. She swallowed again, then looked up toward Machinos; he now appeared to be satisfied with whatever he had seen, and now reared up his horse. It pawed the air dramatically a few times, then lowered itself and, much to her horror, began to charge toward the house, its mane sparkling in the glare of the moonlight and its long tail billowing out behind it. The other horses quickly followed suite after their master; Inez could now see that the General had been accompanying him, along with several Dark Riders. Knowing that she would probably be the first to go if she stayed outside any longer, she quickly whipped around and, taking care not to trip over the hem of her dress, bolted inside the house, slamming the door behind her.

She wasn't entirely sure what had awoken the others, the gunshot or the slamming, but they were now fully awake and were standing in the living room, their eyes wide as they eyed the girl. Matthew, who was in front, was the first one to speak. "What's going on?" he demanded. "I heard a gunshot not too long ago…"

"It's Machinos," Inez said worriedly, pointing toward the window near the front. "He must know that we're here…the General and some of the Dark Riders are with him. Jamie shot at them, but I don't think it helped matters much…"

"Did the shot strike any of them?"

Inez shook her head, at least, she didn't think that the shot struck them; if it had they certainly weren't about to show it. Matthew cursed under his breath and pounded his fist once on the arm of a nearby chair.

"Blast it! Well, you were right, Inez…that didn't help us a bit; if one of them had been injured, perhaps we'd have a better advantage…" He looked up from the chair to face the others. "And I'll bet you anything that the chosen Riders are probably some of Machinos's best soldiers. We're going to have to plan a sneak attack if we want to take down any of them."

He then turned to Jacqueline and Zeny, who were standing behind him at the moment, their hands behind their backs in a casual notion. "You two are going to come with me," he commanded, making a gesture with his hand as he started toward the doorway. "Perhaps if we go into the shadows we'll have a better chance of attacking them."

Jacqueline and Zeny shot each other glances, then started to follow Matthew toward the doorway, leaving the remaining five—Codebird included—still standing in the center of the living room, looking entirely helpless. Finally, Matt shouted to his alternate, who was just about to go out the door, "Is there anything that we can do?"

Matthew turned back to look at him for a brief moment, and paused, as if considering a certain thought. He then sucked in a breath through his teeth, and finally, but slowly, nodded his head. "You five can go out into the stable—it's near the back of the house—and retrieve Skyrider from the area. If Machinos is planning on doing what I think he is, you cannot have her contained within walls of any sort."

Matt groaned; Inez was obviously thinking that he had expected something bigger than what Matthew had ordered. Inez quickly looked over at Matthew, who was now out of the doorway and standing on the porch, and called after him, "What is he planning on—"

Matthew did not hear the remainder, however, for at that precise moment he quickly slammed the door behind him, lightly rattling the kerosene lamps stationed throughout the room. She sighed in frustration, then looked toward the stairs just in time to see Abigail, Anna still in her arms, come running down the flight; Tom was behind her, a great look of questionability on his face. Neither Ruben nor Jamie was to be seen; Inez was about to ask why this was but Abigail ran past her, heading for the dining room, adjacent to the kitchen area.

Inez didn't bother to ask where they were going, she knew that her question would not be answered, and instead looked toward the picture window…just as she heard a deafening _THUMP _sound against the door. Whipping around, she and the remaining members of the group looked on at the door as the _THUMP_ was heard again—it sounded louder this time—then, finally, with a deafening _CRUNCH_ of splintering wood, the old door finally gave way. The kids covered their ears as it crashed to the ground, splitting into two pieces; they then looked up and found, to their horror, that the Dark Riders—with the General in front—were now standing in the now doorless doorway.

"Oh, heaven…" Jackie whispered, but before she could say another word she heard another loud _CRASH_ sound; it was not wood, however, but sounded more like shattering glass than anything. Looking over toward the picture window, she could see that she had been right; in his haste Matt, not wanting to be discovered by neither the General nor the Riders, had picked up one of the lamps and had thrown it with all the possible force he could muster straight through the window itself. Of course, since Matt was on the baseball team back in his own world, this left a reasonably large hole in the center of the glass.

Jackie was about to comment on Matt's guest etiquette, but before she had even opened her mouth she heard the sound of footsteps; the Riders had obviously heard the noise and were running toward their current room. Quickly closing her mouth, she ran across the room and climbed out through the hole in the window, following Matt, Inez, Digit, and Codebird, taking care not to catch her dress, or vest, for that matter, in the sharp edges the breaking glass had left.

Both the kids and the cybirds remained airborne for a split second, until they finally fell and landed in the grass below the window, still moist with morning dew despite the fact that the sun hadn't yet risen. Matt was the first to get up; he appeared slightly more awake now that he had landed in the cold dew, and said, stopping every few words in spite of the catching in his throat, "Okay…now all we have to do…is find Skyrider."

"Well, Matthew did say that she was in the stable, didn't he?" Inez pointed out, getting to her feet and standing up beside Matt. "So if he said it, it's a good chance that she's still there. He also said that it was near the back of the house, which, unless my calculations are off, is where we currently are at this moment."

"Well, that makes it simple enough," Matt commented, fully regaining his balance; he then turned around, and, sure enough, found himself facing a small, rectangular building. It had the structure of a small barn, and the doors, to his surprise, were currently swung wide open, revealing the blackness inside.

Sucking in a breath, he started running toward the building, ignoring the freezing dew that was licking at his feet, as the remaining four followed him. It had apparently turned out to be a shorter distance from the house than they had imagined; they were standing at the door within a time of two minutes. Looking inside, Matt could now make out, in the moonlight, a large silver horse tethered to one of the poles stationed within. Skyrider, no doubt…she was currently pawing the air, her eyes rolled to reveal the whites, and whinnying in fright. Inez, knowing that Skyrider trusted her and Zeny most, it seemed, quickly ran up to her and grabbed hold of the reins.

"Calm down, girl, calm down!" Inez ordered as the horse continued to paw the ground frantically. As she tried to steady the horse, she then looked around and realized, for the first time, that besides them and Skyrider the stable was completely empty. Her facial expression changing a bit due to this, she looked toward the others; they seemed to realize as well.

"Hey, I don't know if it was just me, but didn't there used to be another horse here?" Digit asked, looking around the eerily empty stable as Inez finally succeeded in settling Skyrider down to the point where she could easily mount her. He scratched his head, then said slowly, "I don't get this at all…"

"What's there to get?" Inez asked; she then untied Skyrider from her stationed pole and rode her slowly (as the wounds inflicted by the Blind Trackers were still paining the horse) over to the widely open doors. She then made a hand gesture for the others to get up. "Come on, we're just becoming easier targets by remaining here!"

Matt and Jackie, quickly getting the message, ran up to the horse and mounted her, seated behind Inez, who had decided to work the reins. Digit and Codebird flew up beside them and perched near the horse's tail, as Inez finally pulled the reins backward, gave a cry of "YAH!" and charged off toward the woodland area, away from the house. Jackie looked behind her only once; along with her gaze came a question.

"Inez, what about the others?" she asked, pointing in the direction of the house.

Inez looked over her shoulder at Jackie, then made a noise that sounded very much like a growl and said, "Look, Jackie, Matthew told us to retrieve Skyrider, and nothing else. We've done our job; I'm sure the others will catch up to us soon enough." She then turned her gaze back to the twisting landscape set in front of her; not another word was to be heard from her. But despite her silence, her mind continued to talk, with her first thought hoping that Paradox had gone safely away from the area…

Ruben, still inside the house, had at first wanted to go outside and help his father take care of the intruders, but Jamie, upon finding him, had insisted that he go with his mother and siblings. Although Ruben was still a bit angry by his father's request, he knew that he could not disobey and was now running down the stairs, trying his hardest not to breathe; the door was still knocked down, and he knew, if anything else, that the Machinos soldiers had arrived somewhere within the house's area. Although he was as equally daring as his father was, the last thing that he wanted was to be caught unarmed, and had now pressed himself up against the wall, biting his lip and trying his hardest not to take a breath until he was certain that the soldiers had gone; he could still hear them within the area he was currently standing.

After a few tense moments, he finally heard the footsteps dying out, and at that moment inhaled deeply. He then continued to descend from the stairs—going down the sides as so not to make the old stairway creak any more than it should—and, upon getting to the bottom, lightly stepped down and looked up toward the hallway, in an alerted notion. When he saw that nothing was coming down the hall, he calculated mentally that they had made their way into the kitchen, and thus decided to make a mad dash for the dining room that moment that he was sure they all had their backs turned on him.

Leaning forward slightly for mothenium, he braced his feet against the wooden planks of the floor and, once he was sure that they were too occupied with scaling the house to even think about him, broke off into a run, heading toward the doorway that led into the old-fashioned dining room. To his surprise, he managed to get in without hearing any noises of disturbance; he guessed that he was right about them being too occupied in their work at the moment.

A small grin forming on his lips, he slowly started across the room, looking up toward the mantelpiece…atop a mount near the old glass ship-in-a-bottles that they often collected for show was the rifle that Jamie had kept after retiring from the epic battles that used to be fought in cyberspace so often…that is, until the fall of the Fatherboard army. The rifle, he knew, was still loaded, and Jamie had warned him countless times about never touching it. This time, however, Ruben was sure that his father would make an exception due to this unexpected raid.

He was about halfway across the room, right next to the long table, when he suddenly heard footsteps approaching the doorway to the dining room. Letting out a quick gasp, his eyes darted toward the rifle; he then hastily raced to the mantelpiece, snatched it from its mount, and, taking care not to jolt the item for fear that it would go off, leapt under the table, landing on his stomach, the rifle in front of him and still clenched in his shaking hands. He remained silent as the General, upon hearing Ruben's footsteps, appeared at the doorway and slowly walked into the room, his gloved hands behind his back and a suspicious glare set on his face.

Ruben remained completely still underneath the table—complete with its white, flowered tablecloth, trying his hardest not to breathe too loudly for fear of him making an attempt to look under the table. The General continued to step slowly around the room, his boots making loud, echoing stepping noises on the floor; they were the only part of him that Ruben, being concealed underneath the tablecloth, could see. He began to shake a bit, noticing the glint of the sword from beneath the cloth, but at that moment his gaze then fell upon his father's rifle, still in his hands.

He looked back up at the General, then back down at the gun, suddenly feeling a strong urge to shoot at the detested robot. He was more than within Ruben's mark range, and he didn't even seem to notice that Ruben was there…it would've been such an easy shot…he could just kill him right on the spot and never have to worry about him discovering the remainder of the family, still hidden downstairs…

The General was now within two feet of the trapdoor that led into the basement, concealed by nothing but a simple throw rug. Ruben ran his tongue over his lips, sweat dripping down the sides of his face, then, finally making his decision, placed one of his fingers on the trigger and, with the other hand, slowly raised the rifle to the point where it would shoot the General directly through the head…he closed one eye, as his finger tightened on the trigger…

His chance to shoot was interrupted, however, by one of the Dark Riders coming into the room, and, to Ruben's surprise, finally spoke, in an slight British accent, "General, I'm afraid to report that we've scaled the entire upstairs, along with every room in the lower floors…we've even covered the entire area outside…"

"Well? Did you find anything?" the General asked, turning around to face the Rider. Ruben, still breathing slowly, swallowed once and removed his shaking hand from the trigger area, at the exact moment the Rider spoke.

"There's no one in the house, Sir. We've run a thorough search of every room at least twice, and I can assure you that we've found no one."

The General growled angrily; Ruben slowly released his grip on the rifle and tried to get a better view of the two through the tablecloth as the General spoke. "'Dat's impossible…'dey can't just disappear unless 'dey took a path 'dat we know nothing about. I think 'dat your search wasn't that thorough after all…you would've found something by now."

"I don't think it was as much of a path…they must be hiding somewhere in this house that we don't know about, Sir."

The General glanced toward the area where the trapdoor to the basement was located, an expression of thought set on his face. He then shifted his gaze back up toward the Rider and said, a menacing smile now set upon his face for some reason Ruben couldn't understand, "Yes…'dat we don't know about…" There was a short moment of silence, then the General continued, starting to walk out the doorway, "Come, we have no business here for the time being. There are other things to take care of foist."

Ruben drew back and slowly slid out from under the table as the Rider and the General left the room; as he arose he could hear their footsteps echoing down the hall. Finally daring to fully breathe, he let out his bottled breath out in a long sigh, then his gaze shifted toward the trapdoor to the basement. He knew that he could not go down there; it was probably locked, either way…his gaze then went back toward the doorway. Why had the General stared at the trapdoor's area like that? Did he possibly know something that they didn't…?

He stopped dead when he heard a loud scuffling noise from beneath the trapdoor, and, glancing over, looked down just in time to see Abigail, accompanied by Anna and Tom—Jamie was nowhere in sight—emerge from underneath. Letting out a sigh of relief, he at first wanted to run over toward them but, knowing that the Riders were still in the house, refused upon taking that risk. He instead waved to them in a friendly notion, saying as quietly as he possibly could from his current distance, "Hey!"

Abigail, having an acute hearing sense, perked her ears up and looked over at her coal-colored son, her hand to her chest, then finally sighed in relief as well. Setting Anna down onto the floor above her, she said, in a voice as quiet as Ruben's had been, "Ruben, I thank the Lord that you're okay…what happened to your father?"

"I don't know where he is, Mom," Ruben answered, shrugging his shoulder. "The last time I saw him was when he jumped out of the bedroom window onto the lower roof and—"

He was cut short by the resuming noise of feet thudding the floor. At hearing these noises and finally realizing who had made them, he stopped dead, his entire body froze, and a chill ran up his spine. Abigail stared at her son, then her eyes grew wide as she saw a group of four shapes emerge from the sides of the doorway, all of their faces set in menacing leers. She recognized the one in front at once, and, finally realizing what this event had come to be, narrowed her eyes in an angered leer and hissed, through clenched teeth:

"You lying _traitor_…"

But there was no reaction from the hardened General, only the swift pointing of a gloved hand at the three visible cat creatures (Ruben had still been hidden at a safe distance), and the throaty growl that soon enough found its way into English:

"'Dat's who we want right now. Grab 'dem at once, men."

Ruben was silent.


	20. Sudden Death

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XX: "Sudden Death"

Abigail continued to leer at the General, with Anna still gripping onto her neck and Tom still trying to conceal himself underneath the trapdoor, as one of the Dark Riders stepped forward to grab them, upon the General's command. Ruben, finally coming to his senses, glanced down at his father's rifle, still clenched tightly in his hand, then, taking a deep breath, raised it to shoulder length and, trying not to make any noise, pulled the trigger with incredible agility.

Sure enough, the aim had proven to be true—the silver bullet struck the Rider in the shoulder, causing him to shriek in pain. He slumped to the ground, painfully clenching his wounded shoulder, his eyes shut tightly—although it didn't make much of a difference—and his teeth gritting to keep him from shrieking again; the first one had echoed throughout the otherwise deserted area.

The General, finally sensing another presence other than his party and the Felinus family in the room, turned his gaze over toward the table, where, sure enough, he caught Ruben, the rifle still raised in the fire position. The coal-black cat creature now froze as the General's eyes finally met his; they were set in a deadly glare.

"Well, well, well," he said, sounding rather annoyed for not having seen him in the first place, "It appears 'dat we have another rebel in 'da room with us. Mark my words, kitty, your act of defense will cost you dearly—"

"Get out of here," Ruben growled; he was now aiming the gun at the Riders who had stepped forward to retrieve their comrade and to grab the Felinus beings currently in the room, other than Ruben, anyway. "I warn you of this…if you don't get out of here, I'll shoot you…just like I shot him." At this he gestured with his head toward the wounded Rider, still kneeling on the floor in still seemingly great pain. "I'm warning you, General."

At first the General was unable to respond, but even at lack of words Ruben was satisfied with the frightened look he kept locked on the barrel of the gun. Finally, after a few tense seconds, the General drew in a breath through his teeth, then finally said, extending his hand, "Very well, Ruben, I suggest that we make a deal or one of us will meet a gruesome fate…" He thought for a few moments, then finally said, smiling at the cat creature, "Tell you what. You lower the gun and step outside the house, and I'll spare your mother."

Ruben cocked his eyebrow curiously, lowering the gun one or two inches toward the floor as he stared at the General. He then looked over toward Abigail, who was looking at him with a rather frightened gaze, then he looked back over at the General and said, through tightly clenched teeth, his eyes still narrowed, "Very well, General. I'll step outside, and refuse upon firing at you or either of your comrades. But mark my words, if you don't keep your promise, I swear to God that I'll—"

"Trust me with 'dis, Ruben," the General told him calmly, drumming his fingers together. "If I kill your mother, let alone harm her in any way, you will be obliged to inflict death upon me. Am I getting through to you?"

Ruben made no response, but merely nodded his head and, just in case, shifted the rifle to his other shoulder and stepped forth from behind the table, the dark gaze still on his face as he approached the General. The General smiled as he drew closer, then, as soon as he was within a yard from him, turned to the uninjured Dark Riders and said calmly, "Get them, men."

The Riders obeyed, slowly lifting Abigail up from the trapdoor, along with Tom and Anna. Anna still appeared a bit afraid, but Tom, knowing that the General had promised not to kill them, looked a little more relaxed. Abigail still had an uneasy look on her face; her teeth were biting her bottom lip and her eyes kept shifting around the room as the Riders approached Ruben and the General. The General, after the Dark Riders had maintained their positions next to him, cast an evil smile on them, then turned around and started down the hallway, with the Riders—the injured one still clutching his bleeding arm—and Ruben close behind; Ruben, although the deal had been certain, still had a great look of suspicion upon his face.

Upon entering the outside, the General at once snapped his fingers, and the Riders, sure enough, released Abigail from their clutches. The female cat creature fell to the ground, on her knees due to the sudden release, rubbing her wrists, and her breath coming in short gasps. Ruben ran up to her, then gave her a quick hug around the neck before returning to his current standing position. He was about to lower the gun entirely when he realized that, although the Riders had released Abigail, they still kept Tom and Anna held tightly by the wrists, nearly suspended in midair.

"Well?" Ruben said, his breath coming in gasps as he stared at Tom and Anna, who were looking at their mother and older sibling with great looks of fear on their faces; they seemed to be noticing the same thing that Ruben had. "What are you waiting for? Release them!"

His eyes widened as he got nothing but a cold laugh for his response. The General, finally ceasing his laughter, placed his hand to his forehead and shook it, saying, "Ruben, you obviously are missing 'da point of our deal."

"What does that mean?" Ruben demanded angrily, nearly baring his teeth as his fists clenched tightly. "I said to release them! Why aren't you doing so? I thought you said that we had a deal, General!"

"Ruben, I followed our deal just as I said," the General replied, bringing his gloved hands to his hips as he evilly smiled. "I said 'dat if you lowered your gun and stepped outside, I'd spare your mother." Ruben was silent, so the General continued, "Your _mother_, Ruben, your _mother_. I said nothing about sparing your siblings."

Ruben stiffened, knowing that this was true, but, despite the promise he had made not to shoot at him or any of the Riders, raised the gun to shoulder height and aimed it at the center of the robot's forehead, hissing angrily, "Drop them at once. I don't think that this is the least bit funny."

"It's not supposed to be, Ruben," the General said, narrowing his eyes. Withdrawing his sword from his belt, he stepped forward toward the cat, his eyes cast in a dead glare. "And if you dare to even try and fire at me, I'll slaughter your siblings like pigs. I'm not kidding, kitten."

Ruben responded with a low growl, then placed one of his fingers on the trigger and was about to fire at the advancing General when, in a blinding flash of silver light, the rifle was knocked out of his hand. He yelped in surprise, then watched helplessly as his only form of defense was knocked into a patch of nearby bushes, concealing it from view entirely. 

Shivering slightly, he looked down to his side, where the flash had come from—only to find, to his horror, the tip of a gleaming sword. His eyes widening, his gaze trailed up the blade, where he finally found its owner standing directly behind both him and his mother. He slowly took a step backward at finally realizing whom the figure had turned out to be.

"You're as stubborn as your father, Ruben," Machinos said, shaking his head as he slowly raised the sword and brought it back to his side. "Honestly, I would find no one else to break a deal like he does."

"He never broke any promises!" Ruben snapped back at him, taking another step backward and trying his hardest to hide the dead terror concealed within his voice. Pointing behind him, toward the General's direction, he said angrily, "_You_, on the other hand—"

"Silence, child!" Machinos snapped angrily at him, his eyes flashing in anger. Ruben, knowing better than to try and talk back to Machinos, quickly stopped in mid-sentence and shut his mouth. He then looked up to see Machinos glaring at him, as the robot finally said coldly, reaching inside his jacket, "And if you know what's good for you I suggest that you start running, my furry friend."

Ruben was always one to know that nothing good could possibly come out of this. Slowly drawing backward, he quickly turned around and tried to make a break for it within the trees but, before he could get any further, Machinos slowly withdrew a pistol from beneath his jacket and aimed it in the cat's direction. A loud _BLAM_ then rang out through the treetops, scaring several watching crows from their branches, as Ruben hit the forest ground with a sickening _THUD_. Gasping, he twitched a few times due to pain, then closed his eyes and lay still, as blood began to trickle from the inflicted wound and down onto his shirt…

"Oh, dear God," Abigail murmured, her eyes wide as her son disappeared beneath the thick brush that he had run into during his escape. She then turned toward Machinos, who had left his position behind her and had walked toward the General; he was now standing beside him, his hands on his hips. At first she thought that it was the General that his evil gaze was fixated on, but after a few moments she knew better.

"So, tell me again, General, what were you going to do to dispose of them?"

"Uh…I was planning on cutting their throats, Sire…that's usually the best-used way…"

Machinos shook his head in disapproval. "Honestly, General, although it may be the best-used way, that doesn't mean that it's the best way to do something…it might be painful, but throat cutting usually causes instant death. And they deserve better, don't they?"

The General nodded uneasily, as Machinos reached outward and snagged Tom in one of his hands as easily as if he were a dishrag. The cat creature yelped and struggled, as if sensing some hope of getting out of Machinos's grasp, but all proved hopeless. Machinos held the child up to shoulder length, then with his free hand withdrew his sword and held it up to the child's chest, an evil leer forming on his face.

"_This_ is the correct way to do it," he said evilly, then, without hesitation, he brought the blade down into Tom's chest and, as easily as if he were cutting paper, sliced downward. Abigail and Anna alike gasped and brought their hands to their mouths, their eyes wide in horror, as Machinos withdrew the bloody sword from Tom's stomach and dropped him onto the ground. The General looked down at his master's work; sure enough, Machinos had succeeded in making a fatal wound…Tom was cut open in a vertical gash from the chest to the stomach. However, he could not see the cat child's entrails, due to the fact that blood was still spilling outward like a mild cascade.

Tom seemed to know that the wound was fatal, as well. He didn't even bother to look down at the wound, and instead cast his gaze to the treetops, gasping and every now and then coughing up a stream of blood from his mouth. After a few moments his breathing finally slowed, his eyes closed, and his body gave an intense shudder before relaxing entirely. Machinos smiled as the cat went stiff, then picked him up by the scruff of his neck and tossed him onto the porch of the house.

At first Abigail could not speak, then she finally got to her feet and, although she had no form of defense, clenched her fists and yelled, tears of anger coming to her eyes, "You blood-soaked _MONSTER_!" Machinos was not moved, however, and instead pointed at the female and said calmly, to the Riders that were currently standing next to him:

"I'd grab her if I were you…if she goes for the rifle you all know what is to become of you."

"Are we going to kill her as well?" the General asked as the Riders leapt forward and grabbed her; Machinos stared down at him in the same calm gesture, then slowly shook his head without a moment's hesitation, although he did have the thoughts that she would be an easy target when unarmed. Instead he simply replied:

"No, General. If you look at her the way that I do, you come to mind the suggestion that she possibly has the build to be a wonderful slave. And, if you think about it enough, we're quite short of slaves on the outer grounds. That cotton won't pick itself, you know…" He then cast his gaze back to the Riders, and barked the command, pointing to his horse, "Tie her to Brutus, men. I've already had one escape, and I don't want another one." He then turned back to Anna, who was still in the General's clutches and shaking violently, and said, in a calmer, nicer tone, "As for you, child…has your mother ever told you about that place in the sky entitled 'Heaven'?"

Anna, much too frightened to talk back to him the way that Ruben and Abigail had, quickly nodded her head. Machinos smiled, then drew himself up to full height, motioned the General to back away, and, as he released his hold on her, said, in a much eviler tone than before, "Well, today's your lucky day, because you're about to find out!"

At this he once again raised his already bloody sword, then, before the girl could react, brought it forward easily, driving it into her throat. She gasped, then fell limp; Machinos then raised the sword—she was still impaled onto it—and swung it around again, with such agility that the corpse was disconnected and thrown into the house accompanying Tom. He then wiped the sword off on the grass, as if the blood coating it were simply dust, and lanced it back into his belt before grinning evilly. The General made no response; he was too awed with Machinos's agile movements.

"That takes care of the children," he said, sounding quite pleased with himself, "Now all we have to take care of is their father and then we'll be able to—"

He was cut short by a dark figure leaping from the beam of the house's edge and landing in the nearby bushes. Machinos, now curious about whom exactly the figure was, looked up toward the bushes just in time to see a black figure emerge and start running toward the woods. A black figure with a vivid blue eye…

"Paradox?!" the General exclaimed, not able to believe was he was seeing. Machinos, however, was not in any way the least bit impressed with the robot's sudden appearance.

"Paradox," he said coldly; then he turned toward the General. "I thought that we killed him eons ago in the Crucible Grounds fire…" The General was silent. "Never mind that, then, what matters right now is that he's still alive and needs to be disposed of. I need to go after Jamie, so you are to be the one to dispose of him. But first…" 

He then found a nearby stick, and, picking up two adjacent rocks, struck them together with enough force to create a few sparks. After a few more strikes they grew into a small fire at the end of the stick, which Machinos now picked up and, taking careful aim, threw it onto the roof of the Felinus house. Being that the house was made of wood, it didn't take much time before the fire roared to life, eating away at the house and eventually covering the entire roof. The General looked up at the burning structure in awe, then back at Machinos.

"It's only natural for them to be cremated, General," Machinos told him calmly; the General noticed that he was referring to the corpses, still on the porch. "If not, of all things, to be burnt, it's a fine idea that the house should go down with them, don't you think?" There was a moment of silence, then Machinos finally whipped around and said, "Now then, we have some unfinished business to take care of. General, I want you to find Paradox, and as soon as you do, I want you to kill him. You must not worry about Jamie; I shall be the one to take care of him."

"Yes, Sire," the General finally said quietly as Machinos mounted his horse. Abigail was still tied tightly to the back; Machinos ignored her and snapped the reins, causing the horse to rear up and charge off. The General watched them as they departed, then finally breathed a long sigh and turned toward the area where Paradox had run…

Paradox, unaware of the fact that the General was chasing after him, quickly ran for his life, ignoring Ruben, who still lay on the forest floor, and trying to dodge the twisted branches of the trees that now bowed to the flaming house. Breathing heavily, he leapt over a tree root, then ducked under another protruding bough, heading toward the direction of the creek. If he managed to reach there, he knew, Machinos would not be able to find him.

However, right when he saw the creek come into view, he heard the sound of hooves on the dusty ground. A faint whinny then rose up, which caused him to wonder. _Where's that noise coming from? _He asked himself as he continued to run. _I knew that I tied Buttercup up to one of the trees back there, so she can't possibly be…oh no…_

He picked up speed as he ran toward the creek, but he could not escape the galloping of the hooves; they continued to grow ever closer to him. After a few tense moments, there was the loud sound of leaves coming apart, then a pair of hooves flashed past him, nearly kicking him in the face as they stuck the ground. He fell backward, but quickly scrambled to his feet as the horse circled him, then slowed to a stop, its orange eyes flashing in the dim light. Noticing the markings at once, Paradox shook his head, a few tears falling from his eyes as he drew back.

"No…" he moaned, as the rider slowly descended from his horse. Withdrawing his sword, the General emitted a low growl from his throat, then slowly advanced toward him, his eyes narrowed, the glint of the blade clearly visible in the moonlight. Paradox drew back a bit more, then turned around and tried to run for it but it was hopeless; right when he took the first step forward the General slammed into his back, causing him to fall forward and strike the ground. Whimpering, he looked up just in time to see the General standing over him, the blade raised above his head in an attempt to plunge it down into the robot's chest.

"Why are you doing this?" Paradox finally whispered after a few moments. The General froze, the blade still above his head, then swallowed once or twice and said, trying to sound cold:

"Because you're a nuisance. I'm sorry for whatever pain 'dat 'dis may cause you, but it has to be done. You deserve to die, and 'dat's exactly what I'm going to inflict upon you."

"No…you can't…"

"Ah, but I can. Now hold still; 'dis is going to really—"

"Please, Pray."

At hearing these words, the General froze, the blade still raised above his head. Starting to shake slightly, he swallowed again, then said, in a voice that sounded quite hoarse, "W-what did you call me?"

"Pray…please…I don't deserve this. Can't you see what this has come to…?"

At hearing this term used again, the General lowered the blade, starting to shake violently as he stared at Paradox, who was coming close to tears. His grip loosened on the blade and he was about to drop it entirely, as the following battle took place within his mind:

__

Oh God…he called me Pray…I haven't heard that name used on me in ages…

So what? It doesn't matter a night! Machinos told you to kill him, and that's what you're going to do! It's what you're meant for, General!

But I don't think I can…

Why not? You have every motive to do so! Now stab him! Stab him while you still have the chance!

I can't…

You can too! Now kill him before I force you!

No…

YES! KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW!

"Shut up!" the General finally screamed, dropping the sword and gripping the sides of his head in mental agony; Paradox stared at him and slowly hoisted his upper body up as his comrade shook his head, still screaming, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" 

After a few moments, he stopped this mental fit and shook violently, almost as if out of fright, then released his hands from his head, sighed, and said, pointing toward the creek, his head lowered and his eyes closed almost shamefully, "Just…go, Paradox."

Paradox was stunned by this sudden change of heart. "Pray, I—"

"GO!" the General shouted at him, still pointing toward the creek. Paradox looked at him sadly for a few moments, then finally got to his feet and, taking one last look at him, ran for the creek. The General looked after him as he vanished from view, then let out a pained sob before looking down at the blade, which lay on the ground next to him, undisturbed. Knowing what he had to do, he slowly picked it up, then removed the glove from his other hand and, raising the blade up, swiftly brought it down, slicing deep into his arm. He tensed in pain for a few moments, as the blood began to run down from the wound, before finally dropping the blade and bringing his other hand to his arm, allowing whatever blood that flowed to stain the leather a deep black.

"Dat's it," he muttered to himself, removing his now blood-soaked hand from his arm and placing his other glove onto the flowing blood. "Dat's good…keep flowing…"

When he was certain that the other glove was soaked through, he slowly lowered it and, taking care not to pain his cut any further, slowly slipped his glove back over his hand, making sure to cover the cut up entirely. The un-clotted blood stained the upper part of the glove black, but he didn't care a night about that…the more blood that was on his hands when he came in front of Machinos, the better…

It was quite ironic, however, that right after he had concealed the cut Machinos should arrive on the scene. This was exactly what he did; coming up on his horse, with Abigail still tied to the back, looking just as frightened out of her wits as she had before, he dismounted slowly, then approached the spot where the General stood. Stopping in front of him, he crossed his arms, as the General said, trying not to have the first subject be about Paradox, "So, Sire, did you manage to find Jamie?"

"No, I didn't," Machinos said, sounding rather annoyed with his response. "The blasted animal must be hiding in a pretty good spot for me not being able to sight him out…" He paused for a moment, then said, "What about you, General? Did you find anything…interesting?"

The General uneasily pulled his bloodied glove up with his free hand, then said, sounding rather nervous, "Um…yes, Sire. I came across Paradox not too long ago…he was making a break for 'da creek. I managed to stab him before he got into 'da water."

"Very good…and what happened to the body, dare I ask?"

There was a moment of silence, then the General made his response: "I cannot show it to you, Sire…after I stabbed him he fell into 'da water. Lord knows where 'da thing may be by now, what with 'da currents and all…"

Machinos looked at him questionably for a moment, then he finally turned around and looked toward the creek. Turning back, he cast an eerie smile at his commander, then slowly nodded. "You've done an excellent job, General. Now that Paradox is taken care of, I suggest that both of us set off after Jamie…once he's dead the Freedom Fighters will be open to us once again." He looked up toward the sky, then said, as if thinking aloud, "I do wonder what happened to the Freedom Fighters, anyway…"

"I believe 'dat I saw 'dem near 'da flaming house before I went into 'da woods," the General replied. "Dey were killing off your soldiers…I don't think 'dat dere's more 'den two of 'dem left out of 'da party we had previously."

"Hmph," Machinos scoffed; he then remounted his horse as the General—still trying not to reveal or pain his cut—did the same with his steed. Machinos then turned his horse toward the creek and said, "Well, they do not matter right now. What does matter is that the two of us find and kill Jamie."

"He'll never let you get away with it," Abigail hissed angrily, from her spot on the horse. "Jamie may be retired, but he isn't the pushover that you may think he is, Machinos. And once he finds out that you're after him, you'll probably never see him for the rest of your cursed life."

"Why don't you kindly stay out of our business!" Machinos snapped at her. Abigail narrowed her eyes, but remained silent afterward as Machinos shot off, the General close behind, using only one hand to hold onto the reins due to the fact that the cut was still fresh and still bleeding…

The two had splashed past the creek and were about to make a sharp turn at one of the paths when, out of the blanket of trees beside them, a loud rustling noise was to be heard. Machinos, curious of what it might had been, shifted his gaze toward the trees, and slowly trailed it down the area, as if searching for something. When he found nothing, he huffed and was about to turn his gaze back toward the road when, once again, there was a soft rustling sound—it sounded closer this time—accompanied finally by a loud whinnying noise, then a rather dark figure dashed across the road, as swiftly as you might see a cat do, and disappeared beneath the brush. Naturally, due to the scanner in Machinos's eye it didn't take long for him to realize what the figure had turned out to be…

"Paradox!" he exclaimed, out of awe; he seemed a bit more surprised than when he had seen him before. After a moment's thought, the second realization came to mind…the General had tried to trick him into thinking that Paradox had been taken care of, which, after what he had seen, not the least bit true. Gritting his teeth in anger, he turned toward the General, who appeared just as awed as he was, then screamed, out of rage, "You dirty lying _PRODITOR_! I thought you said that you killed him!"

The General was now quaking visibly, and was about to open his mouth to make a response when Machinos growled, then turned his horse toward the direction where Paradox had run. "Never mind, I'll take care of it myself," he snarled angrily, then snapped the reins of his horse. The steed reared up, then charged off into the woods, leaving the General alone in a stunned silence…

Machinos caught up with Paradox a few moments later, near one of the large wheat fields that had long since been dead. With the horse still in motion, he leapt off, landing about a yard away from his retreating steed, and drew himself back up, drawing his sword out of his belt as he did so. He knew that Paradox was in this area, he could sense his presence, and knew that it would only take a short period of time before the creature finally decided to come out of his current hiding place.

Sure enough, Paradox did come out—but it wasn't what Machinos had expected at all. Having considered Paradox as being a depressed weakling, it was the last thing that he had expected for Paradox to come leaping down from an overhead branch and kick him in the back to sprawl him over; but that was exactly what the robot did. Having Machinos down, the black robot leapt on top of him, pinning him down; the sword was lying an inch or two out of Machinos's grasp. This problem was easily fixed, however, by Paradox grabbing the sword's handle, then, holding Machinos down with his feet, tossed it into a high patch of wild ferns. He then resumed to holding Machinos down, looking directly into his eyes.

"Not so high and mighty without your sword, are you?" Paradox hissed in anger; but Machinos showed no sense of fear whatsoever toward this remark. Instead, he slowly drew one of his feet—complete with the steel toe of his boot—back, and instead said, in a rather hoarse voice tone:

"Oh, I beg to differ…YAH!"

At this last word he shot out and kicked Paradox in the stomach full throttle, causing the robot to gag in pain and fall backward. He landed in on the dust a few yards away from the robot, as Machinos slowly got to his feet, shot Paradox an angered glare, then ran over toward the patch of ferns to search for his sword.

In this short period of time, Paradox wanted more than anything to get up and make a break for it, and he would've given anything for at least having the strength or the courage to do so. Sadly, his stomach and chest alike had been pained greatly by Machinos's kick, and he felt too much pain to even move. His entire torso felt stiff and sore, and if he did so much as try to get up he would've considered it self-abuse. Instead, he simply lay there, not wanting to move, as Machinos finally retrieved his sword and started to walk toward him, taking slow, almost mocking steps, his face set in a deadly glare as he raised the blade.

"Before I take care of you for good, I must say that I congratulate you, Paradox. Not many tormented souls have the courage to take me on, let alone the life that they might have possibly spared, but it doesn't matter nonetheless. Believe me, Paradox, your act of foolishness shall cost you dearly."

Paradox, knowing that he was helpless, whimpered and tried to bring himself to his feet, but it was no use. Sobbing, he looked up at the villain as he towered over him, then swung the blade back and said, sounding much less than sympathetic toward him:

"Goodbye, Paradox."

Paradox whimpered again and brought his hands over his face, but before either of them could have a chance to react a loud shot rang out through the nearly empty air, and shortly after Machinos's mouth dropped open, his eyes widened, and he dropped the sword. Paradox heard the clatter as it struck the ground, and curiously looked up at Machinos as he gave a few short gasps, then brought his hand to his chest and fell forward, nearly landing on top of Paradox by a few inches. Stunned by this sudden change of plans, Paradox finally found the strength to pull himself up and look over toward the direction where the shot had come from.

Sure enough, there in the center of the field's edge stood Jamie Felinus, his body tensed and leaned forward and his arm extended. In his hand Paradox could see a small, silver pistol; he guessed that the cat creature had retrieved it from his dresser the moment he had sought warning. His teeth were bared, and his eyes were narrowed. Having seen Machinos fall, he then shifted his gaze toward Paradox.

"Get out of here, Paradox," he called to him, sounding as tense as his body was. "I've shot him, but I don't know for certain that he's dead. If he isn't, it's best that you leave while you still can."

Paradox nodded, then slowly slunk off into the trees. Jamie, sure that he had gone, sighed angrily, then reached down toward his belt, where he pulled out a small, yet razor sharp dagger. Clutching it tightly in his hand, he let the pistol drop to the ground, then slowly advanced on the motionless Machinos.

Machinos appeared unmoving for most of the time that Jamie advanced, and after a while it became sure to the cat creature that the villain was gone for good. However, the shot hadn't exactly been that accurate—it had hit Machinos in the back—and thus he had to make sure that the robot wouldn't harm any more of his family than he already had. When he was within two feet of Machinos, he drew in a deep breath, then raised the dagger over his head and prepared to plunge it down, when…

"_YAAAAH_!"

Jamie gasped in horror as Machinos gave a loud yell, then swung his sword—which had managed to find its way into his hand—forward, stabbing him directly in the stomach. Gasping, he dropped the dagger and clutched this area, as blood began to seep down onto his white shirt. Machinos continued to hold the blade in place, a vengeful gaze in his eyes and his teeth bared, as the cat creature gave several short gasps, then, unable to hold out any longer, crumpled to the ground. Machinos then slowly rose to his feet, and, kicking him once or twice to make sure that he was surely dead, nodded and pulled the blade out of the cat's stomach.

Staring at the bloodstained blade, Machinos smiled; he knew that even though Paradox had escaped from them, the Felinus family was finished. However, despite his victory he knew that the General had some explaining to do, not to mention that he had to find and kill Paradox as well…however, that could wait.

Taking one last look at the wheat field, he turned around, then started to walk back down toward the woodland path, just as the first rays of sun appeared over the horizon…


	21. Realization

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XXI: "Realization"

Although it had been dawn after Machinos had inflicted death upon Jamie, no other events happened until later that evening. Inez, Jackie, Matt, Digit, and Codebird, who had found a new refuge in a small cave, were resting around the fire that Inez had made, Skyrider included, when the alternates finally came in through the brush. Matthew was slightly bruised, and Zeny's arm was cut open, and all three of them looked quite haggard; Matt was the first to guess that they had probably been in a fight with the Dark Riders back at the now demolished Felinus household.

Matthew, through his panting, was the first to speak. "Hi guys," he gasped, wiping the sweat from his slightly soot-covered forehead, "Man, are we glad that you got away in time…it was horrible back there…"

"What happened?" Jackie asked, although she sounded like she didn't want to know at all. Matthew looked at her, then licked his lips a few times and said, his throat still sounding moderately dry:

"Machinos…he set the house on fire after killing off the Felinus kids…took Abigail prisoner…the house is burnt to ashes now…and we can't seem to find Paradox anywhere." Inez looked slightly worried at this remark, as the boy continued, "Jamie is dead, too…we ran toward the forest after we had heard a deafening gunshot…found his body lying at the edge of the wheat field. Took us forever to get back here without Skyrider, and we're not exactly feeling any better as of late…not to mention that there's a storm on the way, and all you've managed to find is this damp cave…we could all catch pneumonia…"

"You should really lie down, Matthew," Jackie told him, partly out of concern for the boy and partly due to the fact that she was sick of listening to him put down their accomplishments. Matthew looked at her, then gave a few more dry gasps before finally nodding, muttering something under his breath, then, ducking low as so not to hit his head on the roof of the cave, walked over toward the back and lay down in a pile of dead leaves that had collected there from a previous windstorm. Zeny and Jacqueline looked behind them cautiously, then, seeing that there was no one coming, ducked their heads and entered the cave after him.

"So, did you manage to figure out where Machinos was headed?" Jacqueline asked, taking a seat beside Matt near the fire. Matt rubbed his shirtsleeve—he was annoyed with the fact that they were stuck in these old-fashioned clothes until they got back to their own dimension—then sighed, and for a while made no response.

"No," he finally said, after a moment's pause. "The last we saw of him was when we cut off into the forest…Inez decided not to take the path for fear of being captured by some of his Riders, so it wasn't exactly a smooth ride."

Jacqueline nodded, then stifled a slight laugh as she informed him, "Well, you won't have to worry about the Riders any more…we were sure to put them six feet from the air before we came to find you. Sadly, I don't think Paradox could make it…shameful thing, really, he was kind of defenseless…and I'll bet you anything that Machinos and the General want him dead."

"Yeah…" Inez sighed, looking down at the flickering flames of the campfire. She had to admit that she felt sorry for Paradox…his best and probably only friend had betrayed him, twice now by showing Machinos the way to Jamie's house so that the villain could total them one by one. And now he was possibly dead…totaled off with the rest of the closest thing to family that he might have ever had…

Miraculously, just as she thought these words, she heard the sound of hooves clopping across the damp ground. Worried that it might be Machinos or a member of his party, she looked nervously over toward the bushes, where she had heard the noise; Zeny, Jacqueline, Matt, and Jackie did the same. After a few moments of hearing nothing but the sharp wind overhead, there came a loud rustling noise from the bushes, then a rather battered dapple-gray horse emerged, scars covering its body from head to foot. Its head hung forward slightly, as if sick, and when they looked up toward the rider seated atop its back, the girls and Matt alike gasped and put their hands to their mouths, as if they had just seen a ghost of some sort.

At first they thought that they had, but they knew that no such thing could be possible without a worthy explanation. Finally taking this into mind, Inez sighed with relief, then slowly got to her feet—she nearly tripped over the hem of her now rather stained dress yet again—and ran up to greet Paradox, seated atop the old nag; Jackie followed. He smiled at Inez as he slowly dismounted from the horse, and as soon as he had the creature wheezed a few times, then fell to the ground and lay still. At first Jackie truly thought that the animal was dead, but its shallow breathing informed everyone around it that it was indeed alive.

However, they were not focusing their attention on the horse right now; Jacqueline and the others had been worried about Paradox, and that was currently whom they were lavishing attention on. Paradox looked happy to see Inez, but when he saw the Freedom Fighters (who were still covered with blood from the battle), his happy demeanor immediately changed. The mere sight of blood after what the General had done for him was heartbreaking; he let out a choked sob before turning around in the direction of a nearby cascade, where Matthew had decided that they should rest due to the supply of water within the area.

"Paradox, where are you going?" Jackie asked as she watched the robot part the tall water plants that grew around the area and start to head off to the water. "You just got here! Lay down for a moment, okay?"

"No, that won't be necessary," Paradox said sorrowfully, trying to hold back his tears. If he cried in front of the girl she'd surely think that something was wrong. "I—I just need to be alone for a while."

Before Jackie could make a response, he had disappeared within the plants. The girl knew better than to invade upon his privacy, but Inez knew that something was wrong with him by the way he talked…he never did that normally, although he did sound depressed even when he talked in his normal voice tone. Deciding that it would be best to console him rather than leave him alone, she sighed, then, making sure that the others were distracted with other things, parted the plants and walked into the area where Paradox had gone.

Once she got a good view of what was in front of her, she knew the reason why Matthew had decided to rest here, other than the fact that it provided a good water supplement. Now seen clearly, the area was beautiful to look at—it was a clear, sparkling area of water, surrounded by tall marsh plants; it even had a small cascade, as Matthew had noted, gently splashing down the slope of some slick rocks. She sighed, then remembered what she had been here for and, not caring about what happened to her dress, jumped into the water—surprisingly only waist-deep—and waded through toward the edge of the cascade, where she had heard several familiar noises.

The sounds, of course, were the sounds of bitter sobbing, and as soon as she had pulled herself out of the water and wrung most of the droplets out of her skirt, she knew that her guess had been correct. Although he didn't see her, Paradox was sitting against a rock near a small pool of water that had collected from the cascade; his back was to her and he had his face hidden in his hands. Even so, Inez could clearly see his tears dropping into the water, forming small splashes. 

That was all that she needed to see in order to tell that he needed consoling. She knew that if she snuck up on him she would surly frighten him, so she approached him slowly and, once she was behind one of the rocks, called out softly:

"Paradox?"

At hearing his name, Paradox jolted upright, removing his face from his hands, then looked around cautiously before starting to visibly quake. Inez knew that she had frightened him a bit, if not completely terrified him, and to make up for it revealed herself to him from behind the rock. At seeing her, Paradox calmed down slightly, as another tear made its way down his cheek.

"I thought I told you guys to leave me alone," he sniffed, before turning his gaze back toward the pond. Inez looked at him with a look of concern, then placed her head in her hand and finally took a few steps closer to him. She then sat down beside him on the rock; Paradox didn't seem to care and refused to look at her.

"What's wrong?" Inez asked sympathetically, placing her hand on his shoulder. Paradox did not want to tell her full detail of what the General had done for him, that and what the General had done to betray his trust again in the first place. Instead he gave a simple answer to her simple question.

"Everything," he finally whispered; he then broke down into another fit of sobs. Inez looked at him for a moment, then softly patted him on the back as he said sadly, through his sobs, "I thought that Machinos was finished with me after he tried to burn me alive…now he's taken the only thing that I had left away from me…I was one of his most loyal followers, and this is the thanks that I get?" His entire body then shook with a rather hard crying fit.

"It's okay," she said softly, pulling him close to her. For some odd reason she felt a strong type of emotion toward the robot, but she did not yet know what it was. She now drew him into a warm embrace as he threw his arms around her and continued to sob; she tried to calm him down in order to keep him from wearing himself out, but it didn't seem to work with him. All that she could do, she knew, was for him to cry himself dry…she knew not the suffering feeling that he was currently drawn into, but she knew that he needed assist. And she would give it to him in any way that she could.

****

But what was so strange about this moment of consoling was that Paradox seemed to trust her in a way that she couldn't yet understand, just as she couldn't understand anything that she felt toward him. She had only known him about two days, and yet he still treated her like he had known her his entire life. She knew that this was impossible, but as soon as she heard Paradox mutter something as he began to quiet down, she somehow understood, although she didn't know if she had for certain heard it or not:

"I love you…"

Further away, near the burnt remains of the Felinus house, a single body, after being in deep lack of consciousness for what seemed like the longest time, finally stirred. Opening one eye lazily, the pupil darted around for a while, then rolled itself back and closed again. Finally, both eyes opened halfway, the creature turned over on its side, and it finally looked up—in time to see what appeared to be a furry, green figure.

Now coming into further consciousness, it opened its eyes fully, then, as the vision slowly adjusted, finally realized that the figure standing over him was, indeed, a green and rather mangled cat. It had red eyes and a yellow underside, and was currently sitting next to the creature, as if it had been waiting for it to wake up this entire time. Finally trying to sit up, the results proved unsuccessful; a strong surge of pain shot through the creature's back and, with a loud yell, it collapsed on the ground again, its eyes shut tight and its teeth gritting in pain.

"I wouldn't try to move if I were you, honey," the green cat finally replied, holding up her front paw for a brief period of time to inspect her claws. "You were shot pretty badly in the back, and I don't want you to get up for at least the remainder of the night."

"What happened…?" the creature, now revealed at long last to be a coal black cat creature—namely, Ruben, who had lived after all—said; he sounded rather far off as he looked up at the night sky above him. The green cat merely nodded, then blew on her nails with the breath from her nose and, shaking her paw, said softly:

"I don't know what exactly happened, dear, but when I came here there was nothing left of your…house, I presume, but a pile of smoldering ashes, not to mention that when I did manage to find you, you were shot pretty badly in the back. I don't have a clue as to who did it, though. And it would've been much easier if you had been injured in another possible way…I greatly disliked the fact of having to pick out a silver bullet with my teeth alone."

At the mention of this, all of the memories of the previous night came flooding back into Ruben's mind. "Machinos!" he said hoarsely, before coughing and sending up a small stream of blood from his temples. He gagged once or twice; his throat was on fire, then lay his head back down onto the moss he had luckily fallen into after being shot. The green cat looked over at him, a great look of curiosity on her face, as Ruben growled, under his breath, "That tool of Satan came here last night…I tried to protect them…he told me to run…I ran…and then he shot me…" His breathing was now coming very quickly, both out of rage and loss of air in his lungs.

"Machinos, eh?" the green cat finally replied, getting to her feet. "Well, I know how you feel, Hon…I'll tell you this, I managed to escape from his clutches _quite a few_ days ago." She looked at her other paw, now, and turned it over to inspect the pads. "I honestly don't know what that maniac was doing at your house, of all things…"

"I probably know who led him here," Ruben whispered angrily, his eyes narrowing dangerously at the mere thought. "That fiend…he promised my dad that he would never lay a glove on him…and here he goes shattering his promise like the glass on a windowpane and allowing Machinos to come after my sister, my brother, my mom, my dad…" He paused. "Say, did you manage to run into any of them while you were coming here?"

At these words the cat bit her lip, then turned her gaze over to the side and finally said, "Dear, I'm sure that the truth might scare you, but…I did find your father, brother and sister when I was coming into the forest from that nearby wheat field."

"Good!" Ruben gasped, trying his best to sound happy but at the same time making it hard to do so due to his shortness of breath. "Could you find them and possibly tell them that I'm alive and—" He stopped talking abruptly when he saw the look on the green cat's face. "Oh no…are they…" he gulped, then said, more dryly, "Still alive?"

The cat looked at him, then shook her head sadly. "Your father is currently lying dead at the edge of the wheat field. As for your brother and sister…well, when I was inspecting the remains of your house I found…two charred, twisted skeletons…near the area where the porch seemingly used to be…" She trailed off, then looked away.

Ruben cursed under his breath and slammed his fist onto the ground, then took a few deep breaths and said, looking toward the cat again, "Well, what about my mother? Did you find her corpse as well, or is she hopefully still alive?"

At this the cat's ears perked up, and she looked at him strangely before saying, "No, I did not find a female corpse upon my arrival. There could be a chance that she's still alive, but if she was taken where I think she was she won't live much longer…"

"Why? Where did they take her?" Ruben asked desperately. "Just tell me; I know that I could probably do something about it if I knew the exact location—"

"He's probably taking her to the cotton fields," the green cat replied. "Every slave that doesn't qualify for the mines works up there…long walk, really, I visited there once and it took me an hour to walk up there from the Machinos grounds alone. It's best if you don't try to go after her."

"So, what should I do, then?" Ruben asked, now sounding rather discouraged. "I mean, if I can't go after her, what am I supposed to do? The rest of my family is dead, judging by from what you just told me!"

The cat bit her lip again, then looked up toward a constellation in the stars before she finally heaved a deep sigh, then looked down at him and said, softly, "Well…maybe _she'll_ come back to _you_…"

While Ruben, Binky, the Freedom Fighters, the Cybersquad, and Paradox were off doing their own things in their separate parts of the forest, the people—or, more specifically, robots—whom had been responsible for the entire horrific event in the first place were, of all things, having a small celebration for their so-entitled "victory", as they had not had the chance to plan upon one during the daytime; that was when they traveled. Machinos, who did not care much for parties other than inaugurals, was standing at watch near one of the high cliffs near the area where they had stopped, while the Dark Riders—well, what was left of them, anyway—and the General, of course, were down in a grove of trees, not too far from the creek.

The party was small, and it wasn't exactly fancy nor greatly planned, but the Riders and the General alike appeared to be enjoying themselves—for the most part, anyway. As soon as dusk had fallen they had built a campfire nearest the trees that they were currently leaning against, and had obviously been drinking heavy amounts of whiskey; although they did not get to their feet they looked about ready to fall over at a moment's notice. The General appeared to be the only one who was sober; he did not care much for such drinks and was currently propped up against a tree, his bloodied hands resting on his knees and a look of deep thought etched upon his face. Abigail, who had been retrieved from Machinos's horse after he had jumped off, was sitting against another tree, her arms tied tightly to her sides, preventing her from any chance of escape.

"Ay, General, 'at was a great performance ya did back there!" one of the Riders exclaimed, sounding obviously rather drunk. (It was rare in cases for a Dark Rider to talk; they were forbidden to do so upon orders, but take to mind that sober and drunk are two very different things when it comes to following commands.) He slapped the General playfully on the back, then laughed and said, "Yeah, ya really took care of 'em! Just like 'at!"

"Yep," the other remaining Rider agreed, nodding; he wasn't yet as drunken as the first one was, but was getting close to it. "That was a good thing ya did, leading us right to 'em…I didn't think that I could go a day without witnessing a killing, eh?"

"Uh, yes…" the General replied to them, not really paying attention to what they were saying; he was still staring down at the ground, in deep thought. "I suppose 'dat it _was_ one of my better moves…"

"Well, I should think so!" a voice replied; it didn't take a genius to know that the tone was dripping with sarcasm. The General looked up in the direction of the speaker, who had proven to be Abigail, who was now looking at him with an infuriated look on her face. The General stared at her as she continued, "General, I honestly thought that you were intelligent enough a robot to actually keep your promises. But after last night, I now see that I was clearly wrong…I could never have been more wrong in my life."

"What?" the General replied; he was both confused and a bit peeved at Abigail for speaking to him like that at the same time. Abigail allowed herself to catch her angered breath, then she continued:

"General, don't give me any of your foolish claptrap. I know very well that you are well informed of what happened eight years ago at the Battle of Nowhere. My husband saved your rotten life…he prevented you from falling off a cliff. But now that I see that it was futile. As of now, I would have believed more than anything that it would've been better of him to allow you to meet your death on the ground below you." She ended this last sentence in a low growl.

At these words the General appeared very stricken, but before he could make his response one of the Riders shimmied up next to Abigail and said drunkenly, pointing at her, "Oh, come on, General, you're not going to actually listen to this hussy?"

Abigail looked like she wanted to murder him more than anything for calling her that, but she kept her mouth shut and continued to glare at the General, her eyes narrowed dangerously. The General continued to stare at her, then, as if in a trance, he slowly rose to his feet. The other Riders looked up at him as he stared ahead into the trees, then murmured, "I'll be right back," and as if drawn by magnetic force walked forward toward the trees. Abigail and the Riders stared after him as he departed, then the cat creature sighed and looked up toward the canopy above her as the Riders resumed to their drunken conversation.

The General ignored the whoops and shouts of laughter behind him as he left the light of the fire, continuing to walk almost lifelessly toward what had been revealed to be the creek. He stopped as soon as he came to the edge, then looked around him and, finally unable to stare at the scenery around him for much longer, gazed down into the water, at his own reflection beneath the moonlight that cast upon the black water.

However, although he was always one to respect himself, it was not his original reflection that he saw. He wasn't sure if he was cracking up, either that or having hallucinations due to the amount of liquor that he had consumed, but no matter how hard he looked he did not see what he had expected to. Instead of the expression that he was currently wearing now, he saw someone, instead, of his appearance—only it had a look of pure, demented evil set on its face. It was flashing a maniacal grin at the General, then, as soon as the robot bent down to touch it, it vanished without a trace, leaving him to his own reflection, which bore the face of, if not anything else, a cold-blooded traitor…

He had not remembered the incident. In the past, he knew, that he had been saved by someone from something, but due to Machinos and the other burdens of being a supreme commander during the final battles of their lives, most likely, it had been forced from his mind. He had little memory left of it due to that fact; he had not returned to Nowhere in years.

With Abigail's words burning into his mind, it finally hit him like a lead bullet—Jamie had saved his life, even if it had been eight years ago…and he had carelessly led Machinos into his residence area and had allowed his master to kill them…the children…even Jamie himself was dead, or so Machinos had stated to him earlier. Jamie had saved his life, and this…this bloody assault was how he had repaid him. It was too much to bear…this was evil, even for him. He had never been able to reveal his emotions toward anyone, much less Machinos, who rarely showed any emotion at all…but now it finally came pouring out at this realization.

"God," the General muttered, staring down into the creek water at his helpless reflection. "Oh God, what have I done…?"

He then hid his face in his hands, and although he made no noise that could possibly be heard by any mortal, the water below him soon became rippled with tears of shame…

**_Never made it as a wise man_**

I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin'

Tired of livin' like a blind man

I'm sick of sight without a sense of feeling

And this is how you remind me

This is how you remind me of what I really am

This is how you remind me of what I really am

It's not like you to say sorry, I was waiting on a different story

This time I'm mistaken for handing you a heart worth breaking

And I've been wrong, I've been down

Been to the bottom of every bottle

These five words in my head scream "are we having fun yet?"

Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, no, no

Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, no, no

It's not like you didn't know that

I said I love you and I swear I still do

Oh, it must've been so bad

'Cause living with me must've damn near killed you

And this is how you remind me of what I really am

This is how you remind me of what I really am

It's not like you to say sorry, I was waiting on a different story

This time I'm mistaken for handing you a heart worth breaking

And I've been wrong, I've been down

Been to the bottom of every bottle

These five words in my head scream "are we having fun yet?"

Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, no, no

Oh, yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, no, no

Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, no, no

Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, no, no

Never made it as a wise man

I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing

And this is how you remind me

This is how you remind me

This is how you remind me of what I really am

This is how you remind me of what I really am

It's not like you to say sorry, I was waiting on a different story

This time I'm mistaken for handing you a heart worth breaking

And I've been wrong, I've been down

Been to the bottom of every bottle

These five words in my head scream "are we having fun yet?"

Oh yeah, oh yeah, are we having fun yet

Oh yeah, oh yeah, are we having fun yet

Oh yeah, oh yeah, are we having fun yet

Oh, yeah, oh yeah

No, no…


	22. Touch of Heaven

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XXII: "Touch of Heaven"

The General woke up the next morning to find himself still lying next to the creek, the edges of his eyes still wet with tears from the night before and the back of his throat tasting like vomit due to the liquor. Naturally, he didn't like this taste, and thus gagged a few times before shakily getting to his feet, wiping the excess tears from his eyes as he did so. He felt embarrassed about actually crying, even if no one had been around to witness it; he knew that creatures with his job weren't supposed to show a shard of emotion, even if they were alone. But it could not be undone now, and he didn't have much time to think about it; he knew that there was something else that had to be done before he returned to the other Riders.

Sighing, he turned around toward the area where he had come from, then placed two of his fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill whistle. There was silence throughout the air, then, but shortly afterward a faint galloping sound made its way through the air, then there was a slightly loud whinnying noise as the General's horse jumped over a log and landed in front of him, front feet first. It then drew itself to full height and swished its docked tail, letting out several small nickers as it waited for its next command.

The General made no response to the horse, but simply mounted it, then snapped the reins, sending it off in the direction of the creek. It splashed across, then climbed out and ran across the forest, water dripping from its legs as it darted between the trees, then finally emerged in the place where the General had wanted it to—the wheat field's edge. Dismounting the horse, he slowly walked over, then parted the branches in time to see Jamie's body. Sure enough, it was still lying in the same position that it had been the night Machinos had killed him, and buzzards, naturally, were starting to pick at his flesh.

Brandishing his sword, he leapt forward, easily shooing them off, then looked down at the cat's slightly rotted body, sighed, and slowly picked it up with all the strength that he could muster. Like all corpses, it had gone stiff over the short period of time that it had been lying there, and he could now see that chunks of his fur had fallen off and his eyes had been pierced out, most likely by scavengers. The sight of this nearly broke him down again, but he remained strong as he hoisted the corpse onto his back, then walked over toward his horse, who was now looking at him with a face that suggested that it wanted to know what was going on. Ignoring this, he threw the corpse onto the horse's back, then remounted and snapped the reins, sending it galloping off into the wheat.

The horse, its head and neck only visible due to the height of the fields, galloped across swiftly, with the General's hand as its only guide. It continued on through the golden maze until it finally surfaced at the other edge, which led to a small field near the edge of a cliff. There were very few trees in the area, only two were to be seen from the General's current location, and various pebbles and twigs littered the ground. This was exactly where the General had wanted to be; he now dismounted from the horse and tugged the corpse off of its back. He then hoisted it to his shoulders and started to walk slowly toward one of the trees.

The soil was fertile here, making it quite easy for the General to dig a proper-sized grave large enough to hold a creature of Jamie's size. Once the grave had been dug—which took up quite a bit of time considering that he had to do it with his bare hands—he then hoisted Jamie up, closed his eyes, then slowly dropped him down into the hole. He muttered a few words under his breath as he filled in the hole, then sighed and, picking up two large sticks that littered the ground, used the lining of his hat to tie them together, then with his sword carefully carved two simple letters to mark the grave: _J.F._

Standing the cross upright at the head of the grave, he pulled down a few leaves from the tree above him and stuck them in the area where the two sticks had been tied together. He then lowered his head in silent prayer, then his gaze drifted over toward the ground beside him. Being that the first thing he noticed was two other, smaller twigs on the ground, he decided to finish off Jamie's burial with the traditional action that decided the parting of the soul from the body.

Extending a now visibly shaking hand toward the ground, he picked up the two twigs, then used the remaining thread that lined his hat to tie them together, firmly. He then stuck a few blossoms from the tree nearby onto it, and, gripping the small cross tightly in his hand, slowly made his way toward the edge of the cliff. Looking down, he saw that it was a long drop, and ended in a dusty valley below. Every now and then a strong wind would kick up, scattering the dust in clouds across the area.

Knowing what must be done, he gripped the cross tighter in his hand, then held it to his chest as he said, sounding rather shamed as he hung his head slightly, "I'm sorry, Jamie…may your soul undo the deed that has been done."

He then withdrew the cross from his chest and, closing his eyes tightly, drew it back, then brought his hand forward and released it, sending it straightforward into the air above the cliff's edge. It spiraled through the air for a few moments, then began its descent toward the ground below. The General watched it as it reached its fall to the dust, then slowly turned around, just as the first drop of rain from the oncoming storm fell onto his face. He ignored it, and walked toward his horse, his head still down, as the rain began to pour down harder into the area.

As he approached the black-and-white creature, it whinnied, then nudged him in the side as he passed it. The General responded with a pat to the horse's nose, then he slowly mounted and said, pointing toward the area in the forest where he had come out, "Let's go, Macbeth."

The horse, obeying the orders given to it, reared up, then turned around upon the General's guide and started to canter toward the trees, lifting its head up to whinny into the open air, as they left the grave of Jamie Felinus behind, never to return on account of the master. The General turned around to cast one more glance back at the cross, still standing as it had been; then the trees blocked his view for good…

"Man!" Jackie exclaimed as they made their way through the now heavily dampened brush, heading in the direction of what Matthew had said was a landmark entitled "Heaven's Lake". He had suggested upon going there in order to try and find the way toward another place of refuge; Heaven's Lake had many small towns along the edge. But due to the fact that the rain was still pouring down in blankets, it wasn't exactly the best time to be traveling. "What a time to get caught in the rain! Couldn't we have gone _after_ the rain had stopped?"

"Oh, stop whining," Jacqueline snapped at her, running her hands through her matted hair. "Even though Matthew's plans are way too far-fetched for anyone to believe that they could work, they'll work. I'm sure that we'll find a town somewhere along the edge."

"But how will we know when there's a town?" Matt asked, looking around. "When I'm near a lake, I can't even spot a house in the distance! How can we spot a whole town?"

"Don't worry about it," Matthew replied; he was ahead, riding on Skyrider, who seemed to be doing better than she had before the Blind Tracker attack. She still walked with a slight limp in her step, but other than that she had recovered completely. "The people who live in these towns always light lamps at night to help runaways find their way into refuge. If we see lights across the lake, we'll know for sure…and I heard that, Jacqueline."

"Whatever," Jacqueline muttered, shaking her head to clear the excess water from her face. "You just can't handle the truth, is all. That's the only problem with you…no, wait…there's still that nagging fact that you're…oh, how do I say this…maybe just _bossy_?"

"I don't have time for this, Jacqueline," Matthew muttered, tapping the reins to one side of Skyrider's head; she then turned to the right as they continued to walk down the desired path. "We have to find a town before the storm is over…I'm drenched as it is, thank you very much."

"How much farther _is_ Heaven's Lake, anyway?" Inez asked. She was walking next to Paradox, who was currently looking at her lovingly. She had been a bit uncomfortable with what she had heard last night, but she had decided to shake that fact off; Paradox didn't have anything left after what had happened at the Felinus house. She could accept the fact that he wanted to make her his target of affection, although she still wasn't entirely sure whether she should just ignore it or try to help him somehow.

Matthew turned around to look at her. "Not too far…if my calculations are precise, I do believe that Heaven's Lake is right over this…hill, here." He said this as they reached the foot of what appeared to be a high slope; it stretched upward toward the unseen grove of trees above their heads. "It's going to be a pretty high climb, so if you tire easily I suggest that you hitch a ride with me." He paused as he looked at the group. "Any takers?"

"Here, why don't you take Paradox?" Inez suggested, shoving the robot gently in the back as she ushered him toward the boy. Paradox looked at her, then looked up at Matthew as she added, "He's had a rough time, and…ah…I think that he shouldn't try to climb up any…steep hills. Don't you think so?"

Paradox looked at her, then up at Matthew, then finally crossed his arms and stubbornly shook his head. "I am tired, I'll admit, but I'd much rather walk with Inez." He cast a loving gaze at her for a split second; Inez wasn't too comfortable with that. "Sorry, Matthew."

Matthew shrugged, then cast a smug glare at Inez as he said, "It's no big deal, Paradox. I'm merely offering, nothing else. If you want to walk with Inez—" He snickered as he looked at the girl again—"That's just fine with me."

Inez wasn't at all pleased with Matthew's stifled mirth, and was about to open her mouth to say something when Digit interrupted her. "Codebird and I'll go," he offered, extending his wing as so that Matthew could tug him up onto the horse. "We've been walking all day thanks to wing cramps, and we couldn't really get through a climb like that."

Matthew smiled and nodded as he seated Digit behind him on the saddle, then pulled the equally exhausted Codebird up after him and snapped the reins; Skyrider then dug her heels into the mud and began the steep climb up the hill. It had indeed been steeper than they had expected it to be; Zeny and Jacqueline, who had almost lived in this forest, walked up the hill's muddy edge with great speed. Matt, Jackie, and Inez, though, were having a bit more trouble than they had expected.

"Man!" Jackie exclaimed as she continued to walk up the muddy slope, shielding her eyes from the rain as best she could. "I _knew_ I should've offered to ride on Skyrider! I mean, have you seen what this mud is _doing_ to my shoes? Ew!"

"Shut it," Jacqueline snapped from in front of her. "The hill may be steep, but it isn't that high as you think it is. Just keep climbing and stop complaining, okay?"

Jackie growled at her, but said nothing and continued to climb. Matt, to get his attention off of the stabbing pains in his legs, decided to talk to Inez on the way, if that was what you could call what he was saying: "Inez, you know about Paradox?"

"What?" Inez huffed, still trying to make her way up the hill with Paradox hanging onto her shoulders. Matt clapped his hand over his mouth at the sight of this to keep from breaking out into laughter, then finally said, unable to hide the tone of mirth in his voice:

"I think that he likes you…"

Inez was taken aback. "Matt!" she shouted angrily, as Paradox deeply blushed; he had apparently heard every word that Matt had said to her. He then timidly withdrew himself from Inez and slowly continued to climb up the hill; Matt was still smirking at them as he too scrambled up the slope, trying not to lose his hold on the muddy ground. Inez blushed in fury, then looked at Paradox, who was currently refusing to look at her. _Matt is such a jerk sometimes_, she thought to herself as she turned her gaze up toward the top of the hill…

It wasn't long before they reached the top of the slope, although due to the conditions it seemed like it had taken hours. Matthew, along with Digit and Codebird, were the first to arrive at the edge of the slope, with Jacqueline and Zeny following close behind. Accompanying them were Matt, Jackie, and Inez; Inez was the last one to arrive over the slope, as Paradox had beat her to the edge. He was still speechless, and was currently looking down at his feet, his arms tightly crossed to keep out the cold. Inez decided that now wasn't the best time to speak to him, mainly because Matthew was the one speaking, now:

"Okay, guys, we've reached the edge of the slope, now we need to find our way to the lake itself." He turned Skyrider toward the wide path, surrounded by trees and overlooked by gray clouds, then snapped the reins, sending her trotting off down the path. "Come on!" he called after the others, as they finally recovered from the steep climb and began to follow him down the muddy road.

During the entire time that they walked down the path, Paradox was timidly trotting beside the kids; he didn't speak to anyone the entire time. He was still staring down at the ground, and was still blushing; Inez wondered if Paradox really did like her and had been offended by Matt's words. He was one to be easily offended, after all, and he seemed pretty helpless in his current condition…Inez wanted to offer him help, being that she often cared for helpless beings (she often spent her time helping out at an animal shelter), but she didn't want to do anything more. She didn't want to stop being nice, but she wasn't at all comfortable with what Matt had said. And, judging by the embarrassed look on Paradox's face, it didn't seem like he had, either.

After a few moments of walking, Inez looked up in time to see Matthew raise his head, then finally call out, sounding quite relieved: "And, here we are!" At this, all the members of the group—Paradox included—turned their heads up to look at what befell them, and now they could all clearly see, if not anything else, why it had been dubbed with the name "Heaven's" Lake.

Before them, a vast body of silver-colored water stretched out toward the edges of the horizon; when they looked to the sides they could see nothing but more silvery water. Beyond the lake itself was a range of mountains; they too stretched out to the edges of the horizon, and when they looked closer they saw that the one in the center was shaped somewhat like a large wolf; its head was tilted toward the cloudy sky, as if preparing to howl. But what amazed them most was what was possibly the most striking appearance of the lake: the clouds, no matter how much they passed by, always seemed to have several open slits in them; through these shining beams of light streamed through, striking the lake's surface and creating some kind of odd pattern on the water. Matthew, his gaze locked on this beautiful sight, slowed Skyrider to a halt, then dismounted and tethered her to a nearby tree; Digit and Codebird slipped down after him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Matthew said, instantly reading what was all on their minds. "It's no wonder that they call it Heaven's Lake…the ancients named it eons ago. They believed that the never-moving rays were the entrance to the Afterlife…they considered this landmark the most sacred of all…of course, that was before Machinos came…" He trailed off.

The kids knew the rest of the story; Matthew seemed to know that they did, for he said nothing more and, getting down, started to make his way down the rocks that surrounded the area to the rocky ledges below. The kids looked down at him with curiosity, but decided to follow the advice that Jacqueline had given them earlier not to doubt him and followed suite. Skyrider nickered and pawed the ground with her hoof as they disappeared underneath the ledge.

They continued their descent down the rocks, and for once, Jackie made no complaints about getting her clothing wet; perhaps that was because it was already damp as it was. They followed Matthew down until he stopped at the rock nearest the waves, then slowly inched his way over to the next one. It was a few inches apart from the next one; he fixed this problem by jumping over to the next one before he could slip off entirely. The others followed, in time to find out that Matthew had found their newest lookout spot, until they could find a town, that is. He was standing on a rather high rock, looking out at the lake, his entire body braced against the wind as his eyes scanned the horizon. He then jumped down from the rock and ran over to them.

"Well?" Jacqueline asked impatiently, crossing her arms as she looked at him. "Did you manage to spot anything?"

Matthew shook his head. "Either they haven't decided upon lighting the village tonight or the rain is keeping them from doing so." He sighed and brushed the wet strands of hair out of his eyes as he continued, "They might be out there on the lake somewhere, but I need a person with better eyesight. Digit, Codebird, do you think that you could fly up to the top of that tree right there—" He pointed up at a rather large oak—"And try to spot some lights?"

"Does it matter how far away they are?" Digit asked.

Matthew shook his head. "No, it doesn't matter how far away they are. What matters is that there are some actually out there. I need you to go up now, if you two would be so considerate. We're not getting any drier the more we speak."

Digit and Codebird quickly nodded, then, after preparing themselves for flight, shot off into the misty air; Matthew watched them depart before his eyes could not stand the rain any longer. He looked back down at the lake's surface and blew another strand of wet hair out of his eyes as Paradox pulled Inez over, then softly talked to her over the crashing of the waves.

"Inez—"

"Paradox, I know what you're going to say," Inez interrupted, putting her hands at her sides. "I know that Matt was being a bit…well, immature at that moment, but sometimes he's just like that. And I know very well that what he said wasn't—"

"It was, Inez."

Inez stopped abruptly, then placed her hand to her forehead and shook it. "No, no, no, Paradox," she said, "I believe you're mistaken. I'm sure that you like me very well as a friend, but I know that you don't actually see me as anything more than a friend. That's correct, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't, Inez." Paradox was blushing deeply now. "I…what I said was true back at the spring, Inez. I didn't want to admit it to you at first, but I think that I really do—" He swallowed hard; the words had caught in his throat. "What I mean is, I don't have much left, and the way you're helping me is just…so…nice. No one's ever been that nice to me before, with the exception of the Felinus family…but they're gone now…" He sniffed at remembering their demise.

"Paradox, I was only trying to be nice. I'm not—"

"I've found it!" Digit's voice shattered the moment as the two birds came swooping back down, landing on the rock next to Matthew and Jacqueline. Jacqueline rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath that was too silent to be heard by human ears, and Matthew seemed delighted with their triumph. Getting down on his knees next to Digit, he finally decided to brush his matted hair back over his head, then said excitedly:

"Where did you see them?"

Digit turned Matthew's head slightly, then pointed out toward the side of the lake, where they could see several small, very dim lights glowing off in the distance. Matthew was about to wonder why he hadn't seen those before in the first place, but Jacqueline running past him and starting to work her way up the stones snapped him out of his trance. He sighed, then, although knowing exactly where she was headed, crossed his arms and said, "Where are you going?"

"Where do you _think_ I'm going?" she snapped back at him; Matthew knew that he would get this for a response and sighed, looking up toward the sky. "I'm going to go get Skyrider. We have to make it over to that town before dark."

"Very well, Jacqueline, very well," Matthew told her, starting to step over toward where she was climbing. "But remember, I am the only one to control Skyrider for a trip of this distance. No one else is to get atop her."

"I know that!"

At this Matthew sighed again; he then started to climb up the rocks that led to the ground again. The remainder of the group followed; Inez was unable to concentrate during most of the climb due to what Paradox had said. She sighed, knowing that Paradox obviously had believed Matt's words, but she could not accept the fact yet. She continued to think of what she could say to not put him down as Skyrider splashed through a mud puddle and ran off in the direction Digit had pointed in, chasing the lights that led to refuge…


	23. The Fallen

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XXIII: "The Fallen"

As soon as the rain had stopped, and the full moon arrived yet again over the grove of pine trees within the woodlands, Machinos, who had been sleeping through the rainstorm, was awoken from his slumber. The General had suggested that they set up camp for the night, in order for both them and the Dark Riders to rest, and although Machinos had been reluctant, he had to confess to the fact that he had been feeling rather sore after the attack on the Felinus family, mainly because Jamie had shot him in the back before he had met his demise. They thus set up a small camp; the General was lying on the ground, between his sword and horse, and the Dark Riders were leaning against the trunks of some nearby pine trees. Abigail was lying behind the horse; if she were awake, she would not let him see. He didn't exactly care, however, as he was more focused on the noise that had awoken him.

He didn't exactly know what the noise was, at first, but as the sleep cleared from his eyes, he looked up in time to see smoke rising from the treetops, forming odd patterns in the night sky. He didn't know what the patterns were supposed to represent, but no matter; it was the noise that had awoken him in the first place: a series of varied, foreign chants; it sounded almost exactly like some type of Indian ritual. Groaning, he got up to his knees, unable to stand the noise; thus, being the tyrant that he was, he then decided to do something about it.

Upon noticing that the smoke didn't appear that far away, he thus decided to go on foot. Gripping a nearby tree trunk for support, he struggled to get to his feet without paining his chest even more; he rarely showed pain around either the General or the Dark Riders, they thought that he was impervious to it. However, he was nothing of the sort, but had to keep a strong stand despite anything that might have come as harm to him. Now, however, due to the fact that the General and the Riders were asleep, he allowed his pain to be clearly visible.

Whimpering a few times, he grabbed the rough edges of bark that coated the tree, gasping as he tried to ignore the pain in his chest and back. Dragging himself upward with the support of the tree, he nearly cried out when a hot stab of pain went through his back, but quickly stifled himself; it would awaken his comrades to do so. As soon as he had made it to his feet, panting heavily, he then picked up his sword from the dust, and, trying his hardest to forget his show of agony, tossed his head back and strode out of camp, heading for the woodlands.

The path he had chosen soon enough led him straight into a thick patch of brush; he tried to push his way through it, but naturally it was too clumped together for someone of his figure to get through. He finally resolved the problem by hacking them away with his sword, and as he continued to fight his way through the entanglement of trees and shrubs, the foreign chants continued to echo throughout the air, in a loud, calling tone; almost if it was calling him toward its direction. He wasn't at all mystified by it, however; his mood clearly stated that.

"Blast that noise!" he exclaimed angrily to himself as he pulled apart a pair of wiry branches and stepped forth. "As soon as I find its source, I'll personally make sure that it never comes to my ears as long as I may—"

He stopped when he found himself in the center of yet another large clearing. He was surprised that he hadn't seen it earlier; he could recall that he and the General had ridden through it during the rainstorm, and had clearly made sure to recognize the areas of landmarks that they may have entered. Supposing that perhaps the General had missed this one—he didn't seem to be able to concentrate lately, it appeared, since that "party" down near the creek bed—he stepped forth into the clearing, glancing around cautiously, all the time keeping his fingertips on the sword handle.

When he found that there were no surprise attacks awaiting him, no wild animals, and all in all no obvious signs of danger for his person, he sighed, then narrowed his eyes as the noise came to his ears yet again. Gritting his teeth angrily, he walked through the clearing, heading in the direction of the chants, until he finally came to yet another tangle of brush. It was as thick as trellis ivy; he growled angrily as he yanked it apart with his bare hands, then, not even bothering to look at where he was going, stepped forth beyond the pesky tangle of vines, then tossed his head back again and looked up toward the direction of the sky, hoping to see the smoke; it acted as his only guide beside the chants.

Much to his surprise—not to mention awe and frustration—the smoke had vanished from the area; he could no longer see it snaking up through the treetops. As he listened closer, now, he could hear that the chants had ceased as well. Wondering what this was about, he cursed under his breath, gritted his teeth, and waited for the chants to return for several minutes, hoping that they would guide him to the source.

When the chants refused to come, he growled angrily once more, then decided that it would be best to at least follow the silence, if that was possible for him to do. Taking a step forward, he was a bit shocked to hear a loud _CRUNCH_ sound—the sound of glass being stepped on, almost. Looking down at his feet, he could see that he had, indeed, stepped on something, but it was not glass. Bending down, he picked it up, worked it between his fingers, then finally noticed that it was an old piece of pottery; it was covered in paint patterns and appeared to be rather aged; 16th century, at the least. Confused, he glanced around him cautiously—and finally saw what he had entered the entire time.

He had not noticed it before, but now that he saw what was laid out in front of him, he finally realized why the pottery had been lying in the area. When he had pulled apart the brush, he had in truth led himself straight into what appeared to be some type of abandoned city. He could tell that an ancient civilization had made it; the entire area was surrounded by high stone walls—covered with vines and crumbling due to aging—with nothing but a few pillars supporting the structure. The ground—also tiled with stones—was littered with old bones and pottery, and at the end of the area was what appeared to be a high stone temple, Aztec style, complete with the stone steps and the flat top. To his right was what appeared to be a pond; it was lined with red stones and looked almost like some kind of pool. The moon was reflecting off of its surface and striking the walls adjacent to it.

Cocking his eyebrow, apparently not impressed with his surroundings, he crossed his arms, then sighed and, deciding that it wouldn't hurt to explore the area, the noise might have come from somewhere around here and he was unknowing of it, he positioned his sword in a ready mode and took a step forward, ignoring the crunching of old animal cadavers and pottery shards under his feet as he walked.

He was just approaching the edge of the pool when the water's surface caught his reflection, and as soon as he caught sight of what was now in the water, he froze. Letting out a short gasp, he looked over toward where he had stepped near the pool, then took a few breaths before looking down at himself, then over at the pool again. It couldn't have been…it wasn't possible for a reflection to capture that without a logical explanation…but still, he had to know if what he had seen had been indeed real. Without any further hesitation, he rushed up to the edge of the pool, dropped to his knees, set his sword at his side, then, taking a deep breath, leaned over, so that his reflection appeared on the surface.

At first he could not believe that was he saw was his reflection, but as he gazed closer at the surroundings in the background, he knew that there could not be any other possible explanation for what he was seeing. For his reflection, instead of being the hardened, diabolical tyrant that he and everyone in alternate cyberspace were familiar with, he saw his old self: the timid, frightened robot that he had been the day that he was created. Before him was the form of pure innocence, without the monocle, the iron colored hand, the hardened glare, or the look that suggested that blood and war were the only way to get something that one wanted.

Machinos's mouth dropped open slightly, and, to prove that the reflection was indeed real, reached up to his face and slowly ran his hand down his cheek. The giddy-looking reflection did the exact same, and upon seeing this Machinos drew back, then placed his hand upon his chest and let out a few frightened breaths before daring to look back down into the water. He had always feared his old self, up to this very day; he just could not accept the fact that he had once been such a timid creature, driven insane by the cruelty of one man alone. Anyone that dared to remind him of his old self was put quickly to death, and whenever he was reminded it drove him up the wall; he would lie deep in emotional torment for hours. And now, just when he thought that he had gotten rid of the image for good…it still lurked within him…

When he looked back into the water, now, he knew little of the fact that the image was about to torment him even more than it had in the past times. For as he once again gazed into the eyes of his old reflection, the creature's eyes suddenly narrowed, he threw his head back, then from some other source withdrew a sword. It was covered entirely in blood, and when Machinos saw this his eyes grew wider. It wasn't possible for a mere reflection in the water, of all things, to get away with tormenting him like this…and although he had wished otherwise, he shot out and smacked the water's surface with his free hand.

It had almost completely worked had it not been for the fact that Machinos had glanced at his hand after he had disturbed the silence of the water. As the taunting reflection vanished from the surface, a new fear came upon the robot; as he looked at his hand he could see that it was not water that was coating it. It was dark red, and appeared to be rather warm…and he knew very well what this substance was; he had seen in many times in his past, right after the fate of Diable. The sight of it didn't make him cringe, he actually loved it, but not this time…not when it was taunting him like this…he couldn't take it…he couldn't…

Nearly screaming in torment but choosing not to do so for the sake of his dignity, he leapt to his feet and, not bothering to retrieve his sword, ran toward the other edge of the abandoned area. As he did, however, the reflection, upon appearing once again on the "water's" surface, naturally followed him as he ran, trailing a long stream of blood across the pool as it did so. Machinos tried to ignore it, he wanted more than anything to ignore it, but he could not escape it, even when he tried maneuvering to the wall instead of the pool's edge. He knew that it was still there, and it would stop at nothing to make him scream for mercy, which was the last thing that he wanted to do.

He didn't know why it was choosing now to remind him of his horrible past. Maybe it was the fact that the pool had somehow been enchanted by the ancients eons ago, or maybe he was simply having hallucinations…or maybe…just maybe…but he had been more than pleased when he had done that; why was it coming to him now? Why did it not come to him before, when he had done things that were much worse? Was the soul truly behind this, or had it all been his own doing?

He gave out a shout of surprise when a dark, clouded figure emerged from the ground in front of him, stretching itself into an elaborate pose, and finally resting as a figure in front of him. The robot's mouth opened in a silent scream again when he found that it was the form of a deceased Dark Rider; it had its arms crossed, likely, and its lifeless eyes were narrowed. It was transparent as well, Machinos could see clearly through it without much trouble at all.

Growling, the Rider figure took a step toward him, upon which Machinos took a step backward. Sensing true fear in the robot, the figure grinned, then took another step forward, upon which the horrified tyrant took yet another step backward. The robot at first thought could not imagine that things could pit him into more emotional pain than he was in now, but he was about to be proven wrong. From behind the Rider figure several more emerged; Machinos could see that they were all recognizable to him, and what's more, _they had all been people that he had killed in his lifetime_. Men, women, children—all of them took their places behind the Rider figure, their faces set in angry leers, refusing to budge.

Machinos did not want his gaze to leave theirs, but he knew that in order to escape this nightmare he would have to start somewhere in getting himself out. Therefore, he turned around, only to meet up with several more figures; he gasped in horror when he found that the one in the front was none other than Tom Felinus, the child that he had killed only two or three nights ago, now. The cat was now leering at him as angrily as the others, and Machinos was plunged even deeper in his descent when the child opened his mouth, and said, his voice cold:

"_You are no longer one, Eteled Tekcubecnud_."

Hearing the child utter his real name didn't help matters much; Machinos would've killed him had he been alive, but since this was not the case, that and he was going deeper into the line of torment, apparently, that he hadn't felt for years, he could see no other choice than but to turn away from these apparitions and run once again. Of course, this didn't help matters at all, for the things were appearing out of every area imaginable—he could recognize them all—and they appeared to be driving him like a sheep toward the temple. Naturally, that was where he ran, and he looked up in time to see one last figure…one last horrible, resurrected figure, standing at the top of the temple, silhouetted against the moon. Of course, just because he was standing farther away than the others didn't mean that Machinos didn't recognize him, too…

It was Jamie Felinus. The most recent victim of his evil doing, the one that had spared Paradox, and the one that he had killed with a final blow of his sword. Although the cat creature's apparition was a mere silhouette, the eyes still burned down into the robot's, freezing him in his tracks. As Machinos stood there, his eyes wide, Jamie finally murmured, sounding very much like a cold wind:

"_What have you become_?"

These four words were the ones that finally broke the creature down into the torment that had wanted to surface for years. Closing his only working eye tightly, as so to escape the things around him, he sank to the ground, clutching the back of his head with both hands, muttering the same word over and over: "No, no, no…" Jamie watched as Machinos finally fell down to his knees, then looked back up toward him—trying his hardest not to go any farther into emotional pain—then screamed angrily, "_Why do you do this? Why do you torment me with images of the past? Do you think that I have not already seen enough in my early years? What is wrong with you as so to do this? Why? WHY!?_"

Jamie made no effort to answer his question, but merely shook his head and said, his voice still sounding as dead as he was, "You know why we do this to you. For too long have you caused the suffering and grief of others. For too long have all civilians lived under mortal terror of your name alone. You must recognize your errors. And we will never leave you alone until that task is accomplished."

"I'll never obey the likes of you!" Machinos shouted back at him. "I do by my own free will, and I refuse to listen to you, and any of your talk about the 'errors' I have done. Kindness no longer means a thing to me in my world, or my mind. They can have what I cannot…and in that case, they must pay."

"If you cannot find it, you must earn it," Jamie simply said. Before Machinos could even open his mouth as so to protest, he and all the other apparitions had vanished clear from the area; it was highly unlikely that he would see them again. They had done what they were after—to torment him in such a way as to nearly force him to tears—and he was now left to do what they had intended for him to.

"Stop," Machinos finally said, his voice choked as he sank down completely. "Just stop. I am not…am not…oh God, just please stop…" And as he said these words, he did what he had done years ago: he buried his head in his arms and finally expressed the emotional pain that he had been driven to.

It was the first time that he had cried in years. And just as he started, the chants rang out once again through the silence in the air, as the wind rustled the tops of the pine trees through the forest's edge…


	24. Reverend

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XXIV: "Reverend"

Machinos was awoken rather rudely late morning in the midst of the temple. Groaning, he lazily opened his only working eye, in time to see the blurred form of the General, standing over him and looking rather worried with his current condition. The Delete alternate growled in annoyance, then shielded his eyes with his hand as he slowly arose to his feet, still half-asleep, no doubt. Looking down, he could see that his clothing had been rather torn, he knew not how, but that wasn't what was on his mind right now. Last night was still a fresh image in his brain…how he had hated it…and how he had been humiliated to pieces by it…

He didn't want to admit this to the General, however, nor to himself. He did not want to believe that he had actually been forced down to tears by mere spiritual hallucinations of the past, much less that he had actually refused to stand and fight, and that a reflection in the water's surface had frightened him out of his wits.

The pool brought a new curiosity into his mind, and he then slowly lifted himself up and went over to the pool, then leaned over to the point where he could see his reflection. Now in daylight, he saw the exact same tyrant in the water's surface that he'd always seen in every mirror around his grounds…the monocle, the iron hand, the lifeless expression…it all was there.

He forced a laugh at staring at this, and, realizing that the reflection, the spiritual images, Jamie Felinus grinding him down mentally—it had all been something else, a figment of his imagination, perhaps, if he even had one left in him. Reaching down, he picked up his sword, which had still been left by the pool, then lanced it back into his belt and snickered again as he stared at his reflection in the water.

"Nice try, Mr. Felinus," he said mockingly, tossing his head back. "Nice try."

"Sire?" the General asked; upon hearing his voice Machinos whipped around and stared at him, his arms crossed and the dead gaze now set back on his face. The General stared at him, then continued, sounding rather nervous, "Uh…Sire, I was merely wondering why I found you over here…we've been searching for hours, and we were kind of aroused when we found 'dat you weren't still sleeping next to Brutus—"

"I wandered off, General," Machinos told him calmly, inspecting his hands boredly as he said so. "I heard some rather…annoying sounds coming from somewhere off in the forest, and it somehow led me here. I then must've conked out or something…"

"What do you mean by 'dat?"

Machinos glared at him. "I don't know, General," he said hotly. "It was probably just another one of those nightmares that mean nothing to me. Now, if you would be so kind, I suggest that you get back to the area where we set up camp, and get Brutus ready for me. We'll lead the party through here; perhaps we can get a better view from that temple over there." He then gestured toward the spot where he had supposedly seen Jamie's apparition last night. "It's rather high up, I do recall."

The General stared up at him for a moment, then finally nodded his head, whipped around, and ran off, parting the bushes that led into the area as he did so. Machinos glared after him, then cast his gaze back upon the temple, and uttered a low growl from his throat. _Blast you, Mr. Felinus_…he thought to himself…

It was now midday, and the kids, along with their alternates and Paradox, were aimlessly wandering around the town that they had seen on the lake last night. Paradox appeared to be quite unhappy with himself for the incident at the lake's edge, Matthew looked rather haggard, and Digit and Codebird were still asleep, lying sideways across Skyrider's back. Inez was still glaring at Matt, who was looking rather uncomfortable himself; it was probably the outfit, however, for every few minutes he stopped and adjusted one of his clothing items. He then started stepping after the others again.

Matthew was the first to notice this. Turning around, he looked at the boy and said, rather discouraged, "Matt, I know that you don't like that clothing, but think of it this way…at least you'll be able to blend in with the other citizens of this town, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, right," Matt grumbled, he then tugged on the edge of his vest. "I really hate this choice of clothing, though. I mean, when I first put it on, I thought that I was only going to wear it temporarily while my clothes were being washed…but then there was that unexpected raid on the house and—"

"Yes, I know," Matthew sighed; he then turned his eyes back to the road ahead of him. "But like I said, it'll have to do until we get you back to your own dimension." Something from the main Village Square then caught his eye. "Hey!"

"What?" Jackie asked, looking up at Matthew with a tired expression.

Matthew pointed in the direction of where he had looked earlier. "There's a group of people near that old general store. Maybe we could stop in there, possibly get something to eat, and then perhaps ask someone if we can find refuge in this place before we go back to our search for the Portal of Forty."

At hearing the words "something to eat" and "refuge" everyone in the group immediately perked up. Knowing that they would finally get some rest, Matt stopped fiddling with his clothing and started walking in the same direction as Matthew—namely, toward the direction of the old general store. The others followed the two, and within moments they were approaching the old wooden porch of the store itself.

The building was small, and appeared to be something that might've been built in the pioneer times, and was made entirely of pale, gray, rickety slabs of wood, apparently nailed together. There was a long porch at the front of the store, with a roof shielding it from all sunlight, and a group of three or four old steps led up to the door of the main store. Outside, a group of unrecognized cyber-citizens—they appeared to be from Sensible Flats, but that was just a wild guess by the group—were talking amongst one another; Matt didn't bother to catch what they were saying directly, but he could tell that they were talking about their residence. Several old-looking horses were tethered to one of the support pillars on the porch; Matthew rode Skyrider up next to them and, dismounting her, grabbed the reins, walked over, and tethered her to another nearby support pillar. He then turned to the kids, dusting his hands off on his pants as he did so.

"Okay, guys," he said, sounding rather casual in his speech, "Let's go in and see if they have anything that we want."

Inez nodded her head; she was starving and obviously wanted something to eat. "Okay, Matthew…" Her gaze then fell on Digit and Codebird, who were still sleeping peacefully on Skyrider's back. "But what about Digit and Codebird? Shouldn't we wake them up first?"

Matthew turned his head to look at the two birds, then he looked back at Inez and shook his head. "Nah, it looks like they just want to sleep at the moment," he told her, "But if they want anything when we get back out, I'll be sure to save some for them."

Inez nodded, to her this seemed fair enough, then she began to walk up the old stairs to the entrance of the building itself. Matthew, naturally, trod ahead of her, approaching the top of the steps and walking toward the door several seconds before she or any of the others did. As soon as all of them were up on the porch itself, however, Matthew pulled open the door without hesitation, and the group of seven walked in.

The inside of the room was cluttered with various items—quite common for a general store, actually—and in the corner, they could see a few more people standing in a circle and talking amongst one another. The kids ignored their conversation this time, and instead went up to the counter, where a rather old man—he looked very much like Pops, the prop owner from R-Fair City—was standing. He was leaning against the countertop in boredom until the kids came up; he then snapped to attention, looked at them, then smiled cheerfully.

"Hello, Matthew—" the kids guessed that the Freedom Fighters were well-known around here as well—"Jacqueline, Zeny. I haven't seen you around these parts for quite a while, now."

Matthew nodded. "Uh, yeah, we've been having a few…difficulties." He shook his head. "It's nothing that serious at all, really. We're just having a bit of trouble looking for something."

"Machinos is still after you, I presume?"

"Yep. But honestly, it's nothing compared to what we've been through in the past few days." He shook his head, then said, trying to get back on the subject of what they had come in here for, "Say, do you have anything that could possibly be edible around here? We haven't had anything decent to eat for quite a while."

The old man nodded. "We have a few things around here that you might like," he told the group; he then turned around toward the row of old-fashioned shelves behind him. "What do you want? We've got maple sugar, if you're interested…"

"Maple sugar?" Zeny remarked. "I haven't had that in a long time…"

"What about you guys?" Jacqueline asked, turning to face the remaining four. "Is maple sugar okay with you, or should we see if there's anything else that you might eat?"

"Uh, no, maple sugar is fine," Inez replied quickly, shaking her head. Although she hadn't tasted it before in her life, she was willing to try anything after going for several hours without food or water. With the thought of water suddenly in her head, she lifted up her hand and suggested, "Hey, how about we get something to drink while we're at it?"

"Good idea, specs," Jacqueline remarked; then she turned back to the old man, ignoring the look on Inez's face that suggested she didn't enjoy being called "specs" one bit. "Hey, Pops, you got anything to drink while we're at it?"

The old man looked a little appalled, but he recovered rather quickly and answered, "Yes, we do have several liquid items in here…drinkable ones, anyway. We just got a shipment of root beer from Pompadoria a few days ago…and not many people have been drinking it, they seem to be too interested in the whiskey I sell, not to mention that business has been rather dry lately. Would you like some of that? The root beer, I mean."

Matthew thought for a moment, then he shrugged. "Sure, I suppose those two things will do until we find a place to take refuge in. I know that I'm starved…" He thought again, then he turned to look at Paradox. "Paradox, do you want to eat something, or should I just buy for Matt and the girls?"

Paradox looked a bit taken aback, but he quickly shook his head. "No, it's fine," he said quietly, putting his hands behind his back in a timid notion. "You can just buy for yourselves. I'll manage somehow."

Matthew blinked, then he shrugged it off and turned toward the counter as the old man handed him a six-pack of root beer, concealed within brown glass bottles, and a small paper bag. Matthew set the six-pack down before digging into his pocket, then dropping several coins on the table before turning around to face the kids. Picking up the six-pack again, he began to leave the store, calling after the old man as he pushed open the door and left, with the remaining members of the group following him, "You can keep the change, I won't be needing it for quite a while, I don't think."

"Much thanks!" the man called after them as they left the store, with Zeny pausing to wave goodbye to the old man before she too, left, slamming the door behind her.

As soon as they were outside, Matthew took a seat on the steps of the porch, not really caring about stealing space from the very few customers who wanted to enter the store itself, and took a bottle from the six-pack, opened it rather easily, then began drinking it vigorously. Zeny and Jacqueline followed suite, and Inez, Matt and Jackie took their share of the bought goods, while Paradox stood in the shade of the sunroof, his hands behind his back, looking rather shy amongst the small crowd of people. Inez still had yet to know what was wrong with him, and she was still rather disturbed by what had happened last night, but she didn't tell Paradox that she didn't see him as anything more than a friend yet; he was depressed enough as it was.

Instead, she merely took her seat next to the others—which was rather hard, considering that she still wasn't used to being in an old-fashioned dress—and took her share of the food and drink. She set the root beer aside for the time being, she was more hungry than thirsty, and, unwrapping the maple sugar from its paper packet, broke off a small piece and bit it. Like regular sugar, it immediately crumbled in her mouth; she gagged a bit and clutched her throat in shock before finally swallowing the contents and reaching for the root beer.

Jacqueline, who had been watching her as she ate it, laughed a bit before saying to her, "I suppose that you're not used to this kind of stuff yet, are you, specs?"

Inez glared at her as she took a swig of root beer, then said angrily, "Don't call me 'specs', okay! It was bad enough when Matt called me Nezzie, you don't need to start in on calling me bad nicknames too!"

"Whatever." Jacqueline rolled her eyes, then snickered a bit and drank down the last of her root beer, tossed the bottle aside, then reached for the sugar. Inez glared at her, then looked behind her at Paradox, who smiled and gave her a friendly wave upon meeting her eyes. Inez responded with a weak smile, then quickly turned back around—and found herself staring at the black robe of a rather tall man.

Letting out a startled noise, she stopped to catch herself, then looked up toward the man's head—and found, much to her surprise, not to mention disbelief and shock, that the man was none other than Dr. Marbles—or at least, his alternate. It was possible, she thought; the man looked like the Doctor that she knew so well in every way, except that he was clothed in a long black robe, despite the heat of the town, complete with a white collar and a rope tied around the waist. He was wearing brown-rimmed glasses to match his eyes, and he was carrying some kind of book in one hand. He now gave her another friendly smile as her eyes met his.

"Good afternoon, children," he said to them nicely, adjusting the book with his hand as he spoke. "Rather humid day today, is it not?"

Matthew, upon noticing that he was there, took a bite out of the maple sugar, then smiled and nodded, as if he knew the man already. "It is, indeed, Reverend. Why do you think that we're sitting in the shade?" He paused to swallow, then continued, gesturing to the side, "So, what's the deal with you walking around this early? No sermons today, or what?"

The reverend shook his head. "No, I'm afraid that I don't practice that during weekdays. Only during weekends, Matthew." He paused to set the book down near his feet, then continued, "I haven't seen you around these parts for quite some time. Still busy trying to avoid Machinos, I presume? Or has someone asked you that question already?" He paused again, then his gaze finally fell upon Matt and Jackie, then Digit and Codebird, who were still asleep, though they looked rather uncomfortable with the sun shining down on them like it currently was. His eyes grew rather wide, then he finally made another hand gesture toward them and said, sounding rather calm despite the look of bewilderment on his face, "And…just who are they, may I ask?"

Matthew froze, his expression very similar to a frightened rabbit's, then he swallowed again and said, calmly using the same excuse that he had used more than a week ago at the Mt. Olympus city: "They're our long-lost twins from across cyberspace, Reverend. They've come to join us in our travels for a brief period of time before returning to where they came from." This was partly true, he thought to himself; the kids were staying in the Machinos dimension for quite a while until the Portal of Forty was found…if they could find it, that is. He just hoped that the reverend would buy his story the way that the old man at Mt. Olympus had.

The reverend nodded, then smiled, rubbing his chin in thought. "Yes, I do believe that Homer told me that at Mt. Olympus quite a while ago…I stopped by there during my usual travels to give my lectures. But I didn't think that he actually meant it…" He suddenly reached out and grabbed Matt's hand in his, then vigorously shook it. "Either way, I am highly pleased to meet you, my friends."

Matt smiled weakly, then shook his hand back out of politeness, but quickly drew back afterwards, looking around him cautiously. Jackie and Inez smiled and merely waved, and Digit, who was still asleep, yawned and turned over on his side, naturally, and rather unfortunately, causing him to fall off the horse's back. He landed on the ground with a loud _THUD_, which jolted him awake at once. Letting out a slight cry of surprise at where he was, he tucked his head into one of his wings, then finally uncurled himself, stretching as he stood up. His gaze then fell on the reverend.

"Huh…Dr. Marbles?" he said groggily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Codebird, who had been startled awake by the sound made when Digit landed, brought his head up, looked around, then shook it off and fell back asleep, ignoring the sunlight, and basically everything else around him. Matthew sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Actually, it's _Reverend_ Marbles, bird," the reverend told him calmly, picking up the book from the dust. "I practice certain lectures over at the old church house on weekends…but I don't think that you want to hear about that right now." He looked up toward the roof of the general store, then nodded and said, "Say, why don't you come with me for a while? I would be highly obliged to show you around."

At hearing this, everyone—Paradox included—turned to look at Matthew, who didn't exactly seem to be comfortable with their stares. He looked around for a while, then sighed and said, "Why not. Just let me finish eating first, okay?"

"Oh, no, it's just fine," the reverend told him. "I'm planning to show them around on foot. I think better that way." He adjusted the collar of his robe, then said, rather casually, "You may finish whatever you're doing, and you may catch up to us later, is that okay with you?"

Matthew shrugged his shoulder, and took another bite of sugar. "Sure, why not? It'll take me a while to eat this anyway. Just stop showing them around at a spot that I'm familiar with, okay?"

The reverend nodded; to him this seemed rather fair. "Very well, Matthew," he said; then he turned around. "Come with me, children. I'd enjoy showing you the old Fatherboard Courthouse first…Jacqueline, Zeny, do you want to come along as well, or should I only take your…long lost twins?" He said the last sentence rather oddly, as if it were some kind of foreign language.

Jacqueline and Zeny stared at him for a while, then Jacqueline finally sighed, put her foot up against the spot where Matt had been sitting earlier, and said, shaking her head, "Nah, we don't exactly feel like walking around right now; we've seen the town before and we'd like a short rest before heading off. Isn't that right, Zeny?" She nudged the Inez alternate in the side with her other foot.

Zeny looked at her with an annoyed glare on her face, then she finally sighed and said, looking up at the reverend, "Nah, I don't feel much like walking around today, either. You guys can just go ahead without us. It won't make much of a difference, I don't think."

The reverend smiled and nodded again. "Very well," he told them, then he turned around, and gestured Matt, Jackie, Inez, and Digit toward him. The four looked at each other, then ran after him rather quickly, as Matthew, Zeny, and Jacqueline continued to finish what they had been doing for quite a while, now.

The reverend led the Cybersquad away from the general store, then took a turn at a long row of buildings—he later explained to them that they were actually buildings that were part of the town's motel—and soon enough led them to the center of the city, near the edge, where the rest was merely a large, grassy field surrounded by trees. At the edge the kids could see, sure enough, a large, white and brown building that appeared to look like a cathedral, but in truth was far from being one. The reverend smiled again as they approached the large building.

"This, children, is the old Fatherboard Courthouse," he informed them, refusing to slow his steps. "We held all of our most famous trials here in this building, including the one that dealt with the issue of the Fatherboard army. We built it in his honor, but in truth we constructed it before he was slaughtered…" He sighed at the thought of this, then his tone went back to one of normal mood. "But, we're not here to talk about that right now."

"Hey, Reverend?" Matt asked as they walked toward the doors of the courthouse; a question had suddenly popped into his head. "If you only give lectures on weekends, how come you're still wearing that robe on a weekday? Just curious, is all."

The reverend looked at him, he seemed rather taken aback by that question, then merely sighed again and said, "One's wardrobe tends to be a little bland around here these days…with Machinos tearing things apart so often, we barely have enough left to support ourselves. Besides, the rest of my things are still out on the clothesline…"

Matt blinked, he wasn't expecting that hasty an answer, but instead shook it off and looked ahead as the towering building came closer into view. They could now see some more characteristics that they could not see from afar that made it look like a cathedral even more: at the top, instead of the usual clock used in courthouses, was a large, circular stained glass window, its patterns reflecting off of the sunlight as they finally trudged up the concrete steps to the front. As the reverend rapped on the door, the kids looked around; they knew for sure that this had to be the most exquisite building that they'd seen in this dimension so far.

They didn't have much time to think about it, however, for just as they were about to take a step closer the doors opened, and a man walked out; he was unrecognizable but looked very much like a humanoid version of Buzz: he was stout, stocky, and had rather untidy black hair that fell in wisps on his forehead. He was wearing a white shirt and brown slacks; he now looked at the kids as the reverend greeted him.

"You brought the Freedom Fighters here?" he asked, in an accent that was no doubt heavily Southern. "'At's a bit of a surprise, there. I haven't seen 'em in ages, Marbles."

"Actually, Judge Roy, these are their twins from across cyberspace," the reverend corrected him, gesturing toward the kids and Digit, "But the Freedom Fighters are indeed here. They just didn't want to come with us when I showed them the town…they apparently haven't been here before, so I thought that—"

"You'd show 'em the courthouse?"

"Yes, indeed. Is that okay by your standards?"

Judge Roy shrugged his shoulder and nodded his head. "Why not. We ain't having any trials today—it's been a rather lazy week, actually—so it wouldn't hurt for 'em to come in here. Anything 'at you want 'em to see before I close it up for the afternoon, Reverend?"

"Only a few things, Roy," the reverend reassured him; he then gestured the kids to come inside. "It'll only be a few hours, then I'll see if I can find them some vacancy at that nearby motel…they must've been walking for days."

"Ah, I can book 'em a room," Judge Roy told him, waving his hand. "I ain't planning on staying long anyway…need to go to Mt. Olympus in the morning, I do believe, and I gotta start making tracks tonight. My horse is at the stable…"

"Uh, thank you, Judge Roy!" Jackie suddenly said, rather sweetly.

Judge Roy smiled at her, showing most of his teeth, which were beginning to brown; he apparently chewed some sort of tobacco, she guessed. Being what she was, she nearly gagged at this sight, but quickly stifled herself in time for Judge Roy to move out of the way, so that they could be let in. Matt went in first, followed by Inez, then Digit. Jackie went in last, her hand still over her mouth, trying her hardest not to say a word to Judge Roy about the condition of his teeth.

The inside of the courthouse appeared to look like one of any other courthouse that might have been in modern times, only it had less technology and space. The main room of the court itself was all there was, and even so it wasn't much; there was nothing there but the judge's bench, the jury box, and several rows of old fashioned seats. Matt and Inez, being ones to enjoy these kinds of things, looked around in awe, while Digit stared up at the ceiling and Jackie still tried her hardest not to make any comments about the Judge's facial features.

Her attention was drawn away from Judge Roy, however, when she walked up to the judge's bench and found several stacks of old-fashioned papers. Curious, she picked up the top one—it was handwritten in brilliant cursive—and skimmed through it. She didn't get very far, however, for as soon as she caught the name, she stopped abruptly. "Dr. Diable?"

Hearing the name caught Judge Roy's attention as well; he quickly walked over to her and stood behind her, reading the paper's contents over her shoulder. Finally he nodded and said, sounding rather grave, "Ah, yes, I see that you've found the file of Dr. Rheas Diable. We held that trial eons ago…why, it was so long ago it was held even before Machinos came." He then muttered something under his breath that Jackie couldn't hear; she looked up at him curiously.

"But who was he?" she asked.

Judge Roy looked down at her, then sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets. "He was dead way before your time," he informed her, "So you might as well know the facts if you're so curious." He gritted his teeth, then continued, "Dr. Diable was a rather stingy man who kept to himself most of the time, for reasons that I don't know quite yet…he hated all living things, I know, for the trial we held was actually one for abuse."

"Abuse? What kind of abuse?"

"Robotic physical abuse," he said solemnly. "Out of all living creatures, he hated robots the most of all. Why, one couldn't turn a corner in this town earlier without seeing Diable kicking or beatin' some poor robot…it didn't matter what type it was, he despised 'em all. He shared interest in 'em only so 'at 'e could hurt 'em to kingdom come."

"That's awful."

"Oh, we knew it. 'At's why we finally held the trial…the townspeople were getting sick of seeing 'im beat up on robots like 'at. As a result, we banished 'im to that old windmill out near the field…about two miles or something from what is now the Machinos grounds…"

Jackie stopped dead at hearing the mention of the old windmill. "Hey, we were there a week ago!" she exclaimed, looking up at him. "But…we didn't see any signs that he used to live there at all…"

Judge Roy shook his head. "I honestly ain't surprised 'at you didn't see any sign 'at he used to live there…we came along one day and found nothin' but a whole lot of blood on the walls. We guessed that he had been murdered, but we couldn't find a piece of 'im any bigger'n a man's hand…literally, I'm sorry to say. Some thought 'at he deserved it, especially the robots, but no one knew who had done it. No one still does."

"But didn't anyone at least guess?"

Judge Roy thought for a few moments, then said, "It's too far back for me to remember correctly…but if I can, I do believe 'at when we investigated the scene, we found several blueprints for a new robotic type on his table. He obviously hadn't put 'em away correctly, so we looked at 'em…it was rather shocking, to be entirely honest with you, young lady."

"Why was it so shocking? I mean, they were just robotic blueprints, right?"

Judge Roy's expression became even more solemn. "Funny thing about those blueprints, miss…"

Digit then came over; he was obviously getting bored with staring at the ceiling and crawling around on the ground to look for loose change. He had apparently overheard every bit of their conversation, for he then perched atop the judge's bench and said, "Hey! That reminds me of something I heard when I was a slave down in the Machinos mines…" He thought for a moment, then continued, "A few of my new comrades told me that Machinos was created by a scientist who lived near that windmill…but I'm not sure if it's true or not…"

"Did they tell you the man's name?" Jackie asked, glancing at the file from the corner of her eye as she gazed up at the cybird.

Digit shook his head. "They told me the outline of the story, but they never told me the man's name. I don't think that they even know what his name actually was…they merely referred to him as 'the scientist', but that doesn't help matters much, does it?"

Judge Roy nodded his head. "Diable was a scientist," he said, his voice becoming more grave by the moment, "And I was just about to tell this young lady here what was so shocking about the blueprints…the robotic design…" He closed his eyes, then reopened them again and finished, "The robotic design looked just like Machinos…"

At hearing this, Jackie and Digit both froze, then they looked back down at the file. Dr. Diable. Rheas Diable…had he really been the one that had created Machinos? And if he was indeed a robot abuser, could that possibly mean…?

"Oh, dear God," Jackie murmured, her eyes wide as she stared down at the cursive…


	25. The Burning of the Courthouse

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XXV: "The Burning of the Courthouse"

When dawn came upon the depths of the forest, out of the trees came two figures, their forms silhouetted against the rising sun, and their feet moving rapidly across the rough, dusty ground. One of them was a tall, coal-black cat creature, the other a rather scruffy green cat. Both appeared worn out from running, and because of this the cat creature—namely, Ruben, stopped at the edge of the wheat field to momentarily catch his breath, his hand to his chest. The green cat, namely Binky, noticing that he was no longer running, slowed to a halt, then impatiently sat down in front of him, inspecting her hands and frowning at the amount of dirt that had collected on her claws.

"Ruben, what are you stopping for?" she asked as she lowered her paw. "If we want to keep our distance from Machinos, we have to at least get across the wheat field before Machinos decides to trek this way!"

"I know, I know," Ruben panted, wiping the collecting sweat off of his forehead. "But I can only run so fast for an injured twelve-year-old. I was shot in the back, give me a break, if you would be so kind." He looked up at her, then paused for a moment before asking, "by the way, when you found me, did you have any clue as to where Machinos was headed?"

Binky bit her lip, then turned her eyes away from Ruben's. "Not exactly…but I do know that they're heading wherever the Freedom Fighters are heading. And the last time I caught sight of them, I think it was near the creek…"

"Is there anything located near the creek-bed?" Ruben asked her, cocking his eyebrow.

Binky shook her head. "I don't think so, but…" She then pricked up her ears as she heard a rather familiar—and rather dangerous—noise coming from beyond the trees. Her eyes widening incredibly, she clenched her teeth in fright, then grabbed Ruben's shirtsleeve and hissed, under her breath, "Get down!"

Ruben didn't have time to ask questions; Binky sounded rather desperate, so he did as he was told. Binky quickly dashed over to a nearby bush—the one that Machinos's sword had been thrown into on the night of the raid—and hid within its branches; Ruben quickly followed. The two hid themselves completely within the brush, just as they saw the hooves of a group of horses trot past them. If they had been anything else, both cats would've ignored them; however, they recognized the clanking of metal against metal anywhere. It was now a hazard to both Ruben and Binky, both had had unfortunate experiences due to not heeding that noise at first notice.

Curious, Ruben slowly and quietly stood up inside the bush, then just as carefully parted the leaves of the bush in time to see, sure enough, Machinos and the General, along with the remaining Dark Riders and Abigail, still tied tightly by her wrists and ankles to one of the horses' backs. As he caught sight of the pistol—now concealed within Machinos's belt, along with his sword—the wound in Ruben's back tinged slightly, and his eyes narrowed in disgust. He would've felt the urge to spit, had they been any closer to him.

Noticing that Machinos had fixated his gaze upon the bush, Ruben made a terrified noise, then quickly—but silently—dropped back down, hiding himself within the bush again. Machinos growled in the bush's direction, then turned to look at the General. Ruben sighed, he apparently hadn't noticed him for the time being.

"General," he said, rather roughly, "are you quite certain that they would be heading this way, of all places?"

Ruben could not see the General, so he could not tell if the robot had nodded or not. However, he did hear him speak: "Yes, Sire. I'm quite certain 'dat 'dey would most likely take refuge in a nearby town…'dere are several along 'da shoreline of Heaven's Lake."

"That may be true, but we can't be certain that they did so," Machinos replied, his voice still sounding rather dead. "However, I'm sure that if we ask them _kindly_—" Ruben did not like the sound of his voice tone on the last word one bit—"I'm sure that they'll tell us if they'd housed those pesky children or not."

"Dat's what I was thinking in 'da foist place, Sire."

"I'm not trying to insult your intelligence, General. Finding refuge is quite a logical thing to do, if you know the right place to look." There was a pause, then he added, "But I do wonder which town that they would bother to take refuge in, if that's indeed what they have done." There was another pause. "Which town can be seen the clearest from Heaven's Lake in a rainstorm at night, I do wonder?"

"I think it may be 'dat old town with 'da Fatherboard Courthouse," was the General's response. "Dey always light lanterns at night, even in rainstorms, from their windows. Any other town wouldn't have done it, logically speaking."

There was yet another pause; from his place in the bush Ruben guessed that Machinos was thinking this over as a possibility. Finally, he responded, rather coldly, although a trace of triumph was still clearly within his voice, "Yes…the Fatherboard Courthouse…I have some unfinished business to take care of with that precise area. How fortunate that they should stop there, of all places." He laughed cruelly. "Come, General, let us go to the courthouse and see what we can receive from the town's residents, shall we?"

Before Ruben or Binky could even hear the General speak his response, the thundering of horse's hooves came yet again, and soon enough they had gone from the area. Crawling out of the bush, Ruben looked up just in time to see four figures galloping out into the wheat field, with great speed. They were obviously in a hurry to get to the courthouse, he realized…

"Where are they heading to?" he asked rather curiously, as Binky crawled out of the bushes. "I mean, where's this courthouse located? Do you know anything about it, Binx?" He cast his gaze on her.

Binky shook the leaves from her fur, then looked at him. "Yes…in my early days I do believe that I lived in that town. It's on the edge of Heaven's Lake, but it's a rather long way away. Are you sure that you're up to it?"

"Well…no…" Ruben said slowly, "but I don't trust Machinos."

Binky scoffed. "Who doesn't?"

Ruben nodded in agreement. "Which is all the more that we follow his party and see what they're planning on doing. If they're heading toward the courthouse, and if Machinos is planning to 'take care of business' there, that can't possibly lead to anything good."

It was Binky's turn to nod this time. "I agree with you, Ruben," she said. "We'd best follow him, but we have to keep our distance. If he spots us, and if he finds that you're not dead with the rest of your family, he is not going to be pleased at all."

Ruben spoke no reply, but merely clenched his teeth, then got up and, taking care not to pain the wound in his back, quickly got to his feet and began to run off in the direction that the horses had gone in. Binky quickly followed him, dashing into the wheat, and soon enough the field swallowed them from view entirely…

The next day was rather lazy for the small town, especially at the old courthouse. Sure enough, Judge Roy had been true to his word, and upon visiting the stable to pick up his horse for when he rode out of town the next day first visited the hotel and booked occupancy for the kids and their alternates—but only for one night; in the morning they would have to depart from the town.

After staying the night in one of the hotel's finest rooms, Matt, Jackie, Inez, Digit, and the Freedom Fighters had indeed followed their word as well, and had ridden Skyrider out of town early in the morning, to set off for their pursue of the Portal of Forty. Reverend Marbles, along with a few other members of the township, had bid them goodbye, before returning to their everyday duties.

With Judge Roy being gone from the court service, it was law in this certain town for the Reverend to take over, which he had started doing right after Judge Roy had departed. The heat was unbearable, and thus the Reverend spent most of his time inside the courthouse itself, where it was supposedly cooler than the outside air. He was now sifting through a pile of paperwork that Judge Roy had not yet looked through, and was marking things down with an ink pen, when one of the doors suddenly burst open, and a figure came running in.

The Reverend paused to glance up from his paperwork at the figure, which had proven to be one of the town's missionaries. She seemed rather excited, not to mention moderately afraid, and this expression entirely withdrew him from his paperwork. He slowly pushed it aside, then casually folded his hands upon the desk he was sitting at as she stopped in front of him, her breath coming in short, quick gasps, as one always does after running a long distance.

"May I help you, m'lady?" he asked, in a rather calm notion.

The missionary looked up at him, then rather vigorously nodded her head, running her hands through her hair before speaking. "Yes, reverend…there's a group of horses outside that want to see you." The Reverend cocked his eyebrow. "No, no, it's not that way at all. The riders are the ones who want to see you."

"Well, that makes everything make much more sense," the Reverend told her, slowly starting to get up from his place at the bench. "Who are they, may I ask?"

The missionary bit her lip. "Well, that's what I came to talk to you about…"

The highly uneasy tone of her voice seemed to startle the Reverend; he leapt to his feet and ran down from the bench. "Who are they? What's the problem? Are the riders dangerous?"

"Reverend, it's serious, believe me. They're—"

Before she could finish her sentence, however, the doors burst open yet again, and an entire crowd of people came filing into the main area of the courthouse, frightened looks on their faces. Several children within the crowd, he could see, were bawling in fright, and several of the men appeared rather disturbed. He was just about to wonder why these people had entered in the first place, when the river of people filing in and sitting at the benches finally dried up, and only two figures remained at the doorway.

The Reverend could recognize these two figures perfectly, either way; he had seen them and heard of them many times. Of course, that had to be none other than Machinos, and Machinos it was, standing at the doorway, his arms crossed, his chest thrown out, and a rather evil grin on his face. The General was standing next to him; his hands were behind his back and his eyes were half shut.

Upon noticing the Reverend's gaze, Machinos slowly withdrew his arms from his chest, then slowly and casually began walking up alongside the rows of benches toward the main judge's bench, the evil smirk still on his face. "Hello, Reverend Marbles," he said mockingly, as the General followed him, the expression on his face unchanging. "I do believe that you and that louse of a judge put my creator on trial several eons ago, did you not?" He glanced around the courtroom casually. "Is he here, pray tell?"

"No, he's out of town at the moment. Why must you ask such a question?"

"Oh, no reason, exactly. I just had a few unfinished businesses to take care of with him."

The Reverend narrowed his eyes dangerously at the robotic tyrant. "Get out of here, Machinos," he hissed angrily, slamming his hands down on the bench nearest him and looking the robot straight in the eye. "This is a protected area. You cannot go harming others here."

Machinos laughed innocently, then placed his hand on his chest. "Me? Harm others in this area? I think not, reverend. I only wish to ask you a few…" He shot the Reverend a shifty gaze. "_Questions_."

The Reverend cocked his eyebrow in suspicion. "What kind of questions, dare I ask?"

Machinos leaned against a nearby support beam, then said, his stare never leaving the Reverend's, "Harmless questions, really. I just need to know a few things before my departure. You see—" He paused a moment to pull his pistol from his belt (several people in the courtroom cringed upon seeing it), and toyed around with it with his hands before continuing—"I am currently in pursuit of a group of rather annoying children, along with their look-alikes. Have you, perchance, heard of a group called the 'Freedom Fighters', my good man?"

The Reverend knew very well what he was getting at, but he didn't want to risk any of the people currently stationed within the room. Instead, he merely gripped the edge of the judge's bench tightly and said, his voice sounding rather forced, "Yes. Yes, I have."

Machinos grinned coldly at the force of his response, then said, rotating the pistol with one hand before beginning to finger its surface again, "Very good…I knew that you should have at least heard of them _once_. What with the rumors today…" He appeared rather disgusted at this remark, as if he wanted to spit, but instead continued, "Either way, I am currently in hot pursuit of them at the moment, and the General here suggested that they had possibly gone and—oh, what is it, now—stayed in your town for the night?"

Upon this he shot the Reverend a cold glare, and at hearing this question the Reverend froze entirely. He stammered and was unable to answer for a few seconds, then finally collected himself and said, his voice still rather nervous, "Yes, Sire…we gave them a few things last night. But why do you—"

"Where did they head off to, then?" Was Machinos's final question. The Reverend began to perspire, and Machinos saw this at once. To add to the fear hovering in the air of the room, he stopped fingering the pistol and raised it in his direction, as if threatening to shoot him if he didn't speak the truth. "You know very well what I want, Reverend…and you must not stop me from getting it. Tell me where they were headed after their stay was over."

The Reverend perspired even more, and his muscles tensed, but, knowing that he had to keep himself under control, decided upon turning his gaze away from the pistol and gazing out into the crowd of gathered citizens. They appeared to look just as stiff as the Reverend; they knew very well what Machinos could accomplish with a loaded pistol, and didn't help his current predicament much. He locked his gaze back on Machinos and the pistol, still troubled by the question of answering Machinos's question or not. He didn't want to risk the lives of the Freedom Fighters, but then again, he didn't want to risk himself or any of the citizens, either…

"I'm growing impatient, Reverend!" Machinos snarled, still pointing the pistol in his direction. "Tell me now, or suffer the grotesque consequences!"

Finally giving in, the Reverend rose himself to full height and said quickly, still sounding as forced and terrified as he had been before, "They left for Pachyderm Range earlier this morning, my liege!" He then sank back down to the ground, his arm wrapped around one of the support beams, finally deciding to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

This answer was enough for Machinos; he withdrew the pistol, then stuck it back into his belt and removed himself from the support beam. Grinning coldly, he said to the Reverend, still sounding as calm and casual as he had been when he had first entered, "That'll do, Reverend. That'll do…" He then started to head for the door, with the General trotting behind him; the man watched as they made their departure. _Well, maybe he really meant it…_he thought to himself…

His relief was short-lived, however, for as soon as Machinos approached the exit, he suddenly turned around swiftly and barked a command at his two Riders: "Bolt the doors."

"What!" The Reverend was appalled, and his eyes were rather wide. Machinos shot him a cold, yet satisfied, glare before nodding to the Riders, who nodded back, then ran out the doorway before the two tyrants themselves departed.

"You heard me quite well, Reverend," Machinos told him as he turned around, although his gaze was still fixated on the terrified man. "We're locking you and all of your nasty citizens in this very courthouse, for which we have a surprise planned for the lot of you." He snickered to himself before heading out the door. "I do hope that you've planned on being cremated."

"No! You can't do this!" the Reverend shouted in mortal terror, unable to move all of a sudden due to the fear concealed within his mind. "This is a public community! You cannot burn us to death just because you think it may help you somehow!"

"I don't _think_ so, Reverend," Machinos said to him, reaching for the brass handle of the door, "I _know_ so."

Before the Reverend had a chance to protest further, Machinos had slammed the doors shut, and in time the Riders, obeying their orders, had chained and locked them shut from the outside, making it improbable for anyone inside to even try to escape from the courthouse through the doors. The Riders then jumped down from the main porch and ran to their steeds; Machinos and the General followed.

Upon mounting their horses, Machinos quickly rode up to the front of the courthouse, then glanced around him and, upon noticing some torches that were lit for lighting purposes on the lake, turned his horse over to that area and rode back to the front, pausing only once to retrieve them from their stands. He then tossed one to the General, who caught it rather uneasily. Machinos held the other one to his side before looking up at the courthouse, his eyes scanning the roof, almost as if searching for something.

The General knew Machinos well enough to know what he was intending to do, but he just couldn't allow it, somehow. The courthouse, what with its bright white woodwork and stained-glass window in a circular pattern up near the roof, paid too much resemblance to a cathedral, which was the one building that he had had a deathly fear of right from the start of his leadership in the Machinos army. He didn't know why, exactly; just like the incident with Jamie Felinus, in the past flurry of events he could not recall what had come to make him fear them.

Either way, he couldn't stand to see it burn to the ground. His horse, being next to Brutus, Machinos's steed, appeared rather uneasy as well; just as he saw that Machinos was about to throw the torch up onto the roof, without further thought, he suddenly shot up, grabbing hold of Machinos's wrist just as he was about to bring it back. Appalled, Machinos turned to look at the General, a look of both confusion and annoyance set on his face.

"What in blazes are you doing, dare I ask?" he said, rather coldly.

The General was unable to speak for a few moments, but he knew that he had to provide a reasonable explanation, one of which he had. In an almost pleading tone, he shook his head and said, sounding a bit shaky, "Sire, I'm always behind you every step of 'da way, but…you can't do 'dis. Killing an entire family of Fatherboard veterans is one thing, but—you can't burn ethnic property. You can't…" He trailed off.

Machinos looked at him for a while, then he wrenched his hand free of the General's grasp in time to say, "It isn't ethnic, General, it's a courthouse. It's property of the law, not God. Either way, I wasn't intending to burn it down in the first place."

The General sighed in relief at this remark, but, like the Reverend's, his moment of relief was short-lived, for right after he said this Machinos tossed the torch he was holding aside, then said, fingering the General's, "I was planning to have _you_ burn it down, my friend."

The General was shocked at this response, and he shook his head, not intending to ever burn down a thing that had to do with a cathedral. "No, Sire," he said, nearly stammering, "I—I can't do 'dat—I just can't—I—Oh my God, what are you doing!"

He said this last remark as Machinos withdrew his pistol yet again, then slowly placed it to the side of the General's head. A cold leer formed on his face as he hissed, his voice sounding as lifeless as a corpse's, "General, I command you to burn this building to the ground. If you cease to do it, your body will cease to live. Am I getting through to you?" His eyes narrowed.

The General cowered back slightly and shivered, but he knew that this would do nothing to remove the cold steel barrel placed against his skull. Looking up at the courthouse helplessly, he knew that in order to keep his life at bay, he would have to obey Machinos's commands, no matter how much he detested them. Still shivering, he swallowed, then closed his eyes and threw the flaming stick forward with all the strength that he could muster.

Sure enough, but unfortunately for him, his aim had been direct; the stick fell onto the roof and immediately broke it out into flames; it didn't take long for the licking orange fires to spread to the entire roof, enveloping it entirely. The General reopened his eyes, gazing up at a sight that he had never intended to see again, while Machinos still was seated on his steed behind him, looking up with a rather satisfied grin. The flames soon enough spread down the roof and onto the sides, provoking the screams of the people inside at long last.

The General knew very well that they were slowly but surely burning to death, and he could only stand back and listen to their screams as the building continued to burn, black smoke billowing into the sky and forming black clouds. The people inside continued to scream, in mortal terror of knowing that they were done for, until, at long last, the roof gave way to the flames and caved in…directly on top of them.

The General made a pained noise, then turned away, as Machinos continued to stare at the burning building triumphantly. Abigail, still tied to the Rider's horse's back, stared at him as his horse slowly trotted past, its head as low as its rider's, and her expression became one of thought. Machinos stopped staring at the courthouse and turned away at long last, an odd glint in his eye, and the smile still on his face.

Riding up next to the General, he tossed his head back proudly, then said, "You've done an excellent job so far, my comrade. First you lead me right to the Felinus house, then you allow the courthouse to be burnt without so much as a protest. I may even consider making you my honorary second in command over all cyberspace. How would you like that, hmm?"

The General sighed and didn't answer. Abigail continued to stare at him, the thoughtful and confused look still upon her face, as Machinos broke his horse into a gallop, heading out toward the direction that the children had supposedly gone in. The General looked up, then followed him, his head still bowed slightly, refusing to look back at the courthouse…and its awful stained glass window…the window that would soon burn to ashes along with the house itself…

Matthew was just leaning against a tree after a long morning of galloping when he began to get the suspicion that something was not right. Just to be sure, he looked around him, then, sensing no danger present, leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. The feeling, however, still wouldn't go away, and he had a hard time relaxing because of this. Knowing that he would never get any rest, he withdrew himself from the tree and looked up at Jacqueline and Zeny, who appeared to be staring out past the treetops, in the direction they had just came in. Matt, Jackie, and Inez were standing next to them. He didn't know where Digit and Codebird had gone; he guessed that they had gone out flying or something.

However, he could not shake the fact that what they were staring at was something suspicious, and thus craned his neck to see what they were staring at. Zeny, upon turning around, spotted what he was doing, then aided him by pointing at a black cloud in the distance. "There's something out there, Matthew," she told him, sounding rather uneasy. "I don't know what, but it looks wrong. I don't think that we should investigate, but—"

"No…" Matthew's eyes were now focused directly on the black cloud as he got to his feet. "It's—something's not right. I think we need to find out what's making that cloud…it looks too much like smoke to be harmless."

"Do you think that something happened there?" Zeny asked him, looking out toward the cloud herself.

Matthew shrugged. "I dunno, but whatever it is, if it involves that much smoke, it can't possibly be any good." He whistled Skyrider over to him, and quickly mounted her; Zeny followed. He then called to the others. "Guys! Get up on Skyrider. We're going to go back to the town."

"Why?" Inez asked as she mounted the horse; apparently she hadn't overheard their conversation earlier. Matthew sighed.

"You'll probably find out when we get there," he told her, "but right now we have to make tracks. Let's go!"

He snapped the reins, and the horse reared up and charged out to the forest line, refusing to falter for what seemed like hours. It only took several minutes, however, to reach the town they had left earlier, which was now completely desolate save a few stray dogs and cats still wandering the streets. Matthew slowed Skyrider to a halt halfway along the road, then sniffed the air; an unpleasant gaze was upon his face.

"Smoke," he murmured. "Zeny, you were right…but where's it coming from?"

"Uh, I think _that_ can be a possible explanation, Matthew," Jacqueline snapped at him, pointing toward the now incredibly large line of smoke coming up from behind the motel. "Come on, let's go check it out. We'll leave Skyrider here…just in case."

Matthew nodded, then slipped down off of Skyrider, along with the others. Tethering her to a nearby pole, the boy turned toward the source of the smoke, then broke off into a run toward it without warning, the others quickly followed him. They refused to stop—partially because Matthew didn't stop—until they finally arrived at the source, which, to their horror, was indeed proven to be the courthouse.

"Oh, God," Jackie exclaimed, putting her hands to the sides of her face as she eyed the burnt structure. "Am I having a moment, or did someone burn down the courthouse while we were away?"

"Someone did," Jacqueline growled, staring at the pile of smoldering ashes below the remains of the still smoldering building. "We can only be thankful that Judge Roy was out of town when this happened…" She turned around toward Matt and Paradox. "Matt, Paradox, see if you can locate the Reverend."

Matt nodded and Paradox shied away timidly, then the two turned and ran off. Jacqueline sighed, then looked up toward the smoke. "Judge Roy won't be happy about this when he gets back…"

"I'm just glad that he wasn't still inside when it caught fire," Jackie said. "I mean, it's not like there's some type of fire department in this dimension."

Zeny looked at her oddly. "What's a 'fire department'?" she asked.

"Never mind," Jackie told her quickly, shaking her head.

There were a few more moments of silence, then Matt and Paradox finally came running back, both looking rather nervous. Matthew noticed their gazes at once and, as soon as Matt was about to run past him, stuck his hand out in front of his chest to halt his alternate. Matt stopped in front of him, the worried and slightly terrified gaze never leaving his face.

"What is it?" he demanded. "What's wrong?"

Matt was unable to speak due to shortness of breath for a few moments, then he finally managed to sputter, "They're—they're not home."

Matthew raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean? I asked you to locate the Reverend."

"I know—but when Paradox and I stopped at the Reverend's usual place, he wasn't there. So Paradox said that he knew where his house originally was, and we checked there…the door was unlocked, but we ran a thorough search and couldn't find him anywhere. So, we decided to check in on his neighbor—Paradox thought that she might probably know where he went—but she wasn't home, either."

"And the other houses?"

"They were all empty, too. I don't know why or how, but somehow the entire town's been left deserted."

Matthew sighed and lowered his hand. "That's all I need to know for the moment, Matt," he told him, sounding rather defeated. He rubbed the side of his head in thought. "But I don't see why the entire town would just desert like this. I mean, there has to be some kind of—"

It was then that he heard Paradox let out a soft whimper. Knowing that the robot did this normally at any sign of danger, he turned his head over toward the robot, who was standing in front of the charred remains, frozen in place like a startled deer. Curious of what was going on, he ran over to the spot where the robot was standing, and stopped next to him, eyeing the burnt structure, still curious and puzzled. He glanced over at Paradox, and for a brief moment could see a single tear trickle down his cheek.

This brought him to his senses; he looked over at the courthouse and began to scan the remains, searching for anything that might prove suspicious. A building couldn't catch on fire like this by itself, he knew, and in that case it was either an accident or someone had burnt it to the ground. He was unsuccessful for a few moments, it seemed, but then he finally stopped as he came to the blackened doors.

And that was when he noticed the padlock chained to the burnt door handles…and the single symbol that told him who had done this, who had killed almost every single citizen in the village:

It was an M.


	26. Discovered

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XXVI: "Discovered"

"I don't believe this," Matthew sighed, slicking his hair back as he climbed out of the creek waters. It was now early evening, and, after getting as far away from the smoldering courthouse as possible—he figured that with Judge Roy gone and nearly every citizen in town burnt to ashes, there wasn't much left that they could do except wish the dead a peaceful afterlife and head back out to where they were going before—namely, Pachyderm Range. On the way, however, they had stopped to rest at the creek, so that they could relax for a while before starting off again.

"I just don't believe this," he repeated, shaking his head as he sat down on a nearby boulder. "We leave town for a few hours and the next thing we know, the entire courthouse has been burnt to the ground, along with the citizens of the town that we knew so well…" He sighed, then continued, looking at the others—Inez and Paradox were seated next to each other on the ground, as were Jackie, Digit, and Codebird, and Matt, Zeny, and Jacqueline were down by the creek, possibly fishing—with a solemn gaze, "It's no use. Wherever we go, whatever we do, he's sure to follow us, every step of the way. It doesn't matter to him how many people or things he burns, kills, gores, or destroys; he'll stop at nothing to have us. And we can no longer take that risk." He paused. "The Reverend was one of my finest friends, and for that I have made my decision. We will rely on ourselves for refuge only. I can't take much more of this…not after what happened again…" He leaned against a nearby tree, his arms crossed.

Jacqueline came up from the river, then, followed by Matt and Zeny, who were looking rather pleased with themselves despite what had happened earlier that day. Triumphantly, she looked at Matthew and held up her hand. Clenched in her fist, rather tightly, were four or five newly made arrows, their tips sharp and pointed, almost glistening in the late afternoon sun. Matthew looked at her in both puzzlement and confusion; he thought that Jacqueline couldn't have had the chance to retrieve her arrows. The last one he knew of was embedded in Saton's paw, and only heaven knew where he was now.

He didn't need to think it over, though; Jacqueline explained it for him. "I decided upon making some new ones in case we ever need them," she told him, removing her quiver from her back and stuffing the arrows into it before slinging it back over. "Matt and Zeny went hunting for materials with me…we found some tough reeds near the edge of the creek that would serve as a perfect substitute for straight wood, and some stones at the bottom of the creek. They needed a little sharpening, of course, but afterwards we had a new set of arrows." She grinned and crossed her arms. "Just let him try poking around this area; I'll shoot him another blind spot!"

The others seemed rather impressed with Jacqueline's triumph, except for Jackie, of course, who had seen first-hand what exactly happened when Jacqueline possessed arrows, both for hunting and defense. She didn't comment this time, of course; she merely smiled and nodded as the girl turned around, then removed her quiver again and dove into the creek water, to cool off after working.

As Matthew became restless and began pacing around, every now and then scanning the treetops, and Zeny and Jackie became absorbed in a conversation, while Codebird and Digit decided upon playing a game of tic-tac-toe in the dust, Paradox, who was still sitting next to Inez at the time, shimmied closer to her, then brought his hand to her ear and whispered, rather softly:

"Inez, could I talk to you alone for a moment?"

Inez was taken aback at first, and she jumped slightly, but turned to look at the robot anyway, who still had that timid and loving expression on his face that he always gave her. Inez had grown used to this gaze by now; it didn't bother her nearly as much as when he had gazed at her like that the first time. She calmly spoke.

"Yes, Paradox, I have a moment. What do you want to talk to me about, though?"

Paradox blushed. "You'll find out later," he told her timidly, then he rose to his feet. "We need to go further off, though, Inez…I don't want anyone to overhear what I'm trying to tell you right now."

Inez looked rather uneasy by this, but she decided that Paradox would not harm her in any way; he was too timid upon doing so. She nodded, then quickly rose to her feet next to him, as he smiled shyly at her, then began heading off toward a nearby grove of trees, beckoning for her to come with. She obeyed, of course, and they walked for several moments, until they were standing in some sort of small, dark clearing. The trees weren't very high here, being pine, but it was shadowed enough to hide anyone from view. Paradox slowed to a stop in the center, while Inez stopped after him. He then turned to look at her, placing his hands behind his back as he did so.

"So?" Inez asked, crossing her arms. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

Paradox was silent for a few moments, then he finally sighed and said, "Inez, about what I said a few nights ago at Heaven's Lake…I didn't think that you were getting the idea that you thought I really meant it. But…but I do. And now that no one's around to clog the words in my throat, I want to say it now, before anything comes between me and what I say again." He then took her hand in his and said, kneeling down like a gentleman, "Inez, I love you…" He shuddered for a moment as if his words had been just like a quick stab in-between his shoulders, then finally said, "There…I—I said it. I hope you're not too angered with me…"

Inez was taken aback yet again for a few moments, and for several seconds all that she could do was stare ahead of her. Finally she looked back at him, as he slowly rose to his feet, and said, still sounding rather far off, "Paradox, I didn't think you…"

"I know," he sighed; then he released her hand and said, gently placing it on her shoulder, "But I just don't…you see…I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I don't think that you found my approach very comfortable, did you?" He looked at her like a puppy does when it's done something wrong. She sighed, then, deciding that the robot should at least get a bit of what he had wanted all this time—she just couldn't leave him like this while she told him—slowly extended her hand and placed it on his shoulder. She then slowly drew herself closer to him, taking care not to get too close all at once.

"I understand what's going on," she told him, gently embracing him, "and I knew all this time…since that time after the Felinus house was destroyed. But, Paradox…it is not going to work at all. You're too old, I'm too young, and…well, it's just not right. Besides, I'll probably be getting back to my own dimension fairly soon, and I don't want you to miss me to the point where you don't even want to live anymore. I probably will never return, if anyone can help it."

Paradox was silent for a moment, then he finally said, sounding rather disappointed, "I understand. I figured that you wouldn't want anything to do with me…" He emitted a small sound that Inez could clearly tell was a sob. "But I just wanted to do one last thing, before we put all of this behind…"

"What may that be?" Inez asked, looking at him in puzzlement.

Paradox smiled despite his sadness. "This," he said quietly, before he removed her hands from his shoulders, took them in his, and locked his lips with hers. Inez let out a small choking gasp before finally looking at him, then returning the kiss, closing her eyes as she did so. Paradox then put his arms around her, she did the same, before the two finally pulled away. Inez clearly looked shocked, while Paradox had a look of both happiness and relief on his face. It was one of the only times she had ever seen him smile and actually mean it.

After a time of looking at each other, Inez was about to open her mouth to make the suggestion that they get back to the camp, now that their main problem was taken care of between them, but before she could do so both she and Paradox heard a whirring noise, then the sound of something striking another object with great force. Sensing that there was someone else in this area besides them, she quickly closed her mouth, then jumped into a nearby patch of brush, dragging Paradox along with her.

She managed to successfully hide herself, along with the robot, just as two iron-gray horses galloped into view, halting to a stop near the spot where she had heard the noise. Looking over, she could now see that it was an arrow, a brand new one, brilliantly painted along the edges, and it was stuck tightly into a nearby tree. She shifted her gaze to the horses, in time to see that the riders stationed on top were none other than the remaining Dark Riders of Machinos's party. She shivered at the sight of them, but kept quiet and remained still.

She watched as one of the Riders steered his horse over to the nearby tree, then reached down to the point where the arrow was and worked it out of the bark. He then blew the excess sawdust from it before returning it to the quiver strapped across his back. The other Rider then stopped beside him and hissed, in a low voice, "Did you find where it hit?"

The other Rider nodded. "It was stuck in a pine tree," he replied, then he sighed and shook his head. "I should've aimed for the water, it's not too far from here. That tree is going to die fairly soon, I'll bet."

"Odd that Machinos would make us fight with arrows. I'm not quite used to that…I've never shot an arrow before in my life, to be honest. I've only fought with the sword and the rifle that I possess. This is just awkward. Arrows aren't very effective in the offender, anyway."

"Stop your complaining. The master always knows what he's doing, and he clearly said earlier that we were to fashion arrows so that we could fight 'fire with fire'. And we know very well that that Jacqueline girl can fire arrows like a professional archer."

"Yes, but at least with a sword we'd be able to slice a few of their limbs off—"

"I told you to stop complaining. Something must've gone to your head, because you apparently don't remember what these arrows are made of that clearly sets them apart from your average arrow."

"And what may that be?"

"In case you haven't recalled what we did to make these before, the tip is coated with the venom of the black-gold creek adder. That type of venom can drop a full-grown elephant in half a minute if used correctly. The poison overtakes the body like a river…there's no stopping it once it enters. And after several minutes of suffering…bam. You're dead as a doornail."

"So we're apparently going to give the Freedom Fighters the death that they deserve."

The other Rider nodded, as a grin broke out on his face. "Along with their 'twins'."

At this remark the two broke out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, and they were still howling among themselves as they turned around and headed back toward the place where the Machinos party had set up their camp, obviously. As soon as they were gone, Inez leapt out of the brush, with Paradox following slowly behind her, looking rather frightened and confused; every muscle in the girl's body was tensing in fear.

"Oh God," she said, her voice quaking in fear. "I have to warn the others before it's too late…they'll probably start off in a few moments." She took a few breaths, then turned back to Paradox and said, "Come on, we have to head back before Machinos decides to come after us."

Paradox whimpered, apparently he was just as frightened as she was, then the two broke off into a run, heading back in the direction that they had come from. They got out of the trees just in time to see Digit and Codebird, who had given up their game of tic-tac-toe (mostly because of the fact that Codebird was a bit of a sore loser) and were now just flying down from the overhead sky. They, too, looked rather frightened, and Inez could easily guess why.

"Inez, did you see—" Digit began, pointing up toward the sky, but Inez quickly cut him off before he could finish.

"Yes," she said, "I did see. And we have to leave camp at once because of it." She looked around. "Did you warn Matthew or any of the others of the approaching danger yet?"

Digit nodded. "I told Matthew, and he's getting Skyrider ready. He said that we're going to set off for an old abandoned farmhouse near Pachyderm Range, and hide there until it's safe."

Inez looked rather confused, not to mention wondering how in cyberspace Matthew seemed to know where everything was. "Abandoned farmhouse?"

Digit nodded. "He was telling me about it before he went to get Skyrider from her post. He said that they had helped an old couple escape from Machinos a few years ago, but before they could get back to their living quarters they were slaughtered by a pair of Machinos's Blind Trackers." He shuddered at what he had just said. "However, they left the farmhouse intact for some reason or another. It's right at the edge of the woodlands, near that bend in the creek. Not too far, I don't think…"

Inez didn't reply but nodded, just as Matthew came over from past the creek with the horse. Jacqueline and Zeny mounted her at once, taking their places behind Matthew, while Matt and Jackie climbed on after them. Inez and Paradox quickly ran over and got on, not wasting any time, while Digit and Codebird made the decision to fly overhead and track the party's locations. Matthew, refusing to look behind him, snapped the reins, then galloped off.

The sudden galloping noise, however, managed to catch the attention of the two Riders, who had left the clearing and were now a few yards from the Machinos camp. Upon hearing the horse, however, they both stopped, then listened for a few moments before turning their positions around, back in the direction that they had come from.

The General, who had just mounted his horse to go scouting for intruders, was the first to notice their sudden change of direction. Looking toward them, he called out, "Ay! Just where do ya think 'dat you're going?"

Upon hearing his voice both Riders turned back to look at him. "We're going back to the clearing," the first one informed him. "We heard the sound of a horse not too far from here, and considering the fact that Pachyderm Range is an unpopulated area something's up. We're going back to investigate."

"Look, 'dat gives ya no reason to do something like 'dat. It was probably just a wild—"

"We're going back to investigate because it may be the Freedom Fighters, General. Why else would we try to disobey your commands? Surely not because of anything else, my liege."

The General stared at them blankly for a few moments, as if in a trance, then he finally said, "You'd best take me with yas…if it's 'da Freedom Fighters I doubt 'dat we'll get a chance 'dis good." He mounted his horse, then turned it around toward the spot where Machinos was stationed. "I'll inform Machinos…you try to find 'dem, and we'll set out after yas fairly soon."

The two Riders nodded, then they turned back to the trees and, digging into their horses' sides, snapped their reins. The steeds reared up, then charged off into the grove, while the General turned around to go and inform Machinos of what had been heard.

While the kids and their alternates continued to ride Skyrider along the forest path, Digit and Codebird flew overhead, directly above them, to track the party's movements. So far they could see nothing, but they knew that that was not in the least bit true, and thus continued to stare down. Finally, just as they were nearing the end of the woodlands, Codebird managed to spot something below him: a group of four small, dark shapes, moving in a pattern similar to that of the Freedom Fighters'. It didn't take a wild guess to know who those figures were.

"Wuh-oh," Codebird muttered to himself; he then swooped up beside Digit and muttered to him, his teeth clenched nervously, "Digit…the Machinos party managed to find the trail left by Skyrider. They're dangerously close to the farmhouse, now."

Digit looked at him, his eyes rather wide. "What? How? I didn't think that Skyrider left footprints of any kind."

"I know, but the ground around these areas is soft, unfortunately," Codebird told him, biting his lower lip before continuing. "I figured that out while we were playing our game. They can easily follow Skyrider's hoof-prints this way. It's too late to do anything now, I'm afraid."

Digit looked unable to believe it for a few moments, then he finally sighed and nodded his head, looking rather defeated. "I suppose you're right. The only thing we can do now is keep out of sight and hope that the army rides past that particular area."

"Hope so," Codebird agreed; then, upon seeing the kids and their alternates, Skyrider included, enter a small, rickety old building below them—namely, the farmhouse—the two hastily prepared to land, trying to keep out of sight while doing so; before they swiftly planted themselves on the grass next to the door they had seen that the Machinos army was only about a kilometer or so away; they would be here any moment, it seemed.

Refusing to falter due to this knowledge, they quickly opened the door, then rushed in, with Digit slamming the door quickly behind him, nearly breaking it off of its hinges due to its age. Shuddering at the noise, he slowly got down—there were windows in this building, naturally—and crawled across the floor, where he found the others already hunkered down. Matthew was looking up toward the window nervously, as if half-expecting the party to all of a sudden bust through the glass, and Zeny and Jacqueline were both keeping Skyrider flat against the ground, although the horse sensed the danger and was more than happy upon doing so.

Stopping next to him, both birds flattened against the ground, leaving their ears pressed against the floorboards. Due to the fact that one always seems to hear sounds magnified when against the ground, they naturally heard the sound of clopping hooves approaching, rather loudly, then the sound finally halted; Digit guessed that they had stopped in front of the farmhouse. He then heard their voices, first the Rider's:

"They went this way…I just know it, Machinos…but I don't see them. Considering how far away that they were when we started off, and considering the fact that their horse can't run very fast after the Tracker attack—"

Digit was about to ponder to himself on how the Rider knew this, but before he could have the chance to think in profound silence Machinos spoke up, sounding just as dull and dead as always:

"I know very well of the Tracker attack, thank you, and I don't think that they could have made it past the range in the time it took us to arrive here. Not only is their horse slower than usual, but the range is over two miles long. It would've taken them at least twenty minutes to get safely across, not to mention manage to hide themselves from view…"

"Where do you suggest that they went, then?"

Machinos paused for a moment before speaking. "You forgot the fact, my comrade, that we are standing directly in front of an old farmhouse. Owned once by that old couple, I do believe…" Digit heard him chortle to himself before he continued, "They may have been able to seek refuge in there, but we cannot be entirely sure. Their horse may have managed the trip across quicker than we have calculated."

"Do you suggest that we search inside the farmhouse?"

Digit and all the others, he could tell, froze at this remark, including Skyrider, but Machinos calmly responded, "That may kindly be an option, but first we must search the outer grounds before we do an inner search…however, your suggestion is probably the most reasonable to start with."

Digit heard Matthew utter a quiet whimper, a noise of defeat, before looking over toward the doorway. They heard the sound of footsteps, then the soft sound of fingers against a wooden surface. Matthew's heart pounded rapidly, and his breathing became slow and unsteady, but he refused to move from his position. There was hope, even though the chances seemed slim.

After the scraping, they then heard the sound of a doorknob turning, and all of them froze in place once more, defeated looks on their faces. However, right when the doorknob was halfway through, it suddenly stopped, then clicked back into place. They then heard the sounds of muffled talking from behind the door, both the General's and Machinos's:

"Sire, what are you stopping for? Surely you can open a door without thought or hesitation?"

"I know, General, but something about this entrance doesn't seem right…" There was a pause before continuing, "This door…it's too memorable…and something about it makes me rather uncomfortable upon entry. But I do know that there is only one other option in this case."

At this Matthew relaxed, thinking that this 'other option' was to leave the farmhouse to be and start off across the range, where they would take a separate path alongside the range itself. They would then backtrack the party to another location, and start off for another landmark in an attempt to find the portal. Yes, everything was all planned out for him, so it appeared…

That is, if Machinos wasn't planning on saying something else other than the answer that he was expecting, which was, unfortunately, an answer that made him stiffen yet again:

"The door cannot be entered normally, not by my standards, either way. I know that they're here; I can sense their presence." There was a pause while Matthew began gasping for breath out of fright. 

"General, break it down, if you would be so kind."


	27. Escape and Forgive

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XXVII: "Escape and Forgive"

Matthew wanted more than anything, now, to escape at this time, and to possibly run across the range in time to lose them. But they were currently trapped in the house, and there was no settling that. The only other escape was the window, but he guessed that it was probably being looked upon by the other Dark Riders. He lowered himself closer to the floor, placed his hands over his head, and groaned, realizing the error of his sudden idea. He should have known that they would become trapped if Machinos found them…

But it was too late now. Right after Machinos had said these words, there was the sound of light pounding, but it grew heavier with each thud, and soon enough an ear-splitting sound of the old wood splintering as the door gave way, as predicted. Jackie made a frightened noise, but before they could have the chance to react Machinos saw them near the window, and within seconds Jackie and Inez were hauled to their feet; it took them a few seconds to realize that the two Dark Riders had given up their guarding the window and were now holding them tightly by their wrists. The first Rider was holding onto them, while the other was holding onto Jacqueline and Zeny, who were trying their hardest to put up a fight. But their hands were like steel; they could clearly see that they weren't going to get anywhere with their chosen actions.

Matthew appeared too shocked by the sudden entrance to move, and Machinos was blocking the door either way; there was no chance of escape. Skyrider was still on the ground, but she appeared to look just as frozen as Matthew was. Digit was the same way, but Codebird, not wanting to give in to fear of Machinos, let out an angry yell and leapt at him. However, before he could get any closer the General snagged him by the tail, then wrapped him in a headlock and, unsheathing his sword, pressed it against the bird's neck in a threatening manner. Codebird, terrified of the blade, naturally, swallowed hard, then remained still. Machinos grinned coldly.

"You're lame enough to be shot," he said, then he snagged Matt, who was closest to him, by the arm. The boy struggled, but could only follow suite as Machinos yanked him to his feet, then said to Matthew, still sounding rather dead, "You shouldn't have tried to run from me in the first place. It'll only cause a quicker and more painful death than you realize. But, what has been done cannot be undone, unfortunately for you." He shook his head, in a bout of sarcastic sadness.

When he reared his head, it was then that he noticed Paradox in the corner, shivering visibly and rather close to tears, it seemed. Remembering what happened the last time that he had confronted Paradox, he narrowed his eyes, then slowly unsheathed his sword and began to advance on him. Paradox, noticing what he was doing, whimpered and pressed himself flatter against the wall, but before he could do anything more Machinos was upon him. He had let go of Matt's hand while he went over, so it wasn't too hard to snag onto him with his free hand and hold him tightly in place.

"Paradox," he hissed angrily. "The only survivor of the Crucible Grounds fire." Paradox whimpered in response, but Machinos ignored his pleading tone. "You should have died years ago. I was so certain that I killed you…but it appears that I was wrong. You were staying with that blasted Felinus family, weren't you?" Paradox didn't respond. "Weren't you…"

"Stop," Paradox said, his voice violently shaking. "Please stop…"

"You poor creature," Machinos said, although his tone was dripping in sarcasm. "Don't you know that it's futile to ask for forgiveness from me? No matter how much you beg, or plead, or cry, you will never get out of the punishment I am to give you. Once it is settled, there is no turning back."

Paradox was silent for a few seconds as he let this sink in, then he finally whimpered, sounding close to the point of tears, "But…w-what did I ever d-do t-to you?"

Upon hearing these words, Machinos froze, then stared at him, a horrified gaze on his face. Those words…they were the exact same spoken words that he had said before he had killed Diable, and had finally given in to the rage that had forever been with him from the day of his creation. He had expected never to hear those words again…but now they had been clearly spoken, out of the mouth of one whom he had tried to kill. The memories of the night he had been in the temple suddenly came flashing back to him, and his mouth dropped open slightly as he slowly uncurled his hand, allowing the sword to drop to the floor, then he slowly took a step backward.

Paradox, who had nearly been cowering in fear either, now looked up to see that his enemy was slowly backing away, even though he still had a tight hold on the robot's wrist. The black-colored robot thought of this as a slow retreat, although he didn't know what he had said, and he was about to consider the fact of pulling his hand free when Machinos recovered from his shock, gripping his wrist tighter as he reached for his sword.

"I believe you are more blind in the head than you seem," he snarled, then, picking up his sword and gripping it tightly in his free hand, slowly drew it back, aiming for the terrified robot's neck. Paradox, knowing abruptly what he intended to do, emitted a small sound that sounded like a cross between a whine and a scream, then covered his eyes with his free hand and shook violently, waiting for the tyrant to lower the final blow.

Machinos never got the chance, however, for the General, now watching this entire scene, suddenly recalled his show of emotion at the creek, after uncovering the memory of what Jamie Felinus had done for him. Going farther back, now, he had remembered what Paradox had said during the raid, right when he was about to stab him:

"_Pray…please…I don't deserve this. Can't you see what this has come to…_?"

After a few moments, he had finally realized what this had meant. He now knew what it had come to, and rather well. Paradox was one of his greatest friends, probably one of the only ones that he had, and yet he had let his sin of envy overtake him and allow Machinos to nearly kill him by burning him to death. He had never seen Paradox after that, and when they finally reunited he had forgotten everything in the past—he had tried to kill him, even. But Paradox still remembered him…still remembered the name that he used to call him…and yet he was allowing Machinos to behead him, right in his sight.

Well, that wasn't about to happen. Not today, and not ever again.

Sighing, he narrowed his eyes, then slowly released Codebird from his grip, allowing him to drop to the floor. While he was still recovering, the General, keeping his sword unsheathed, uttered a low growl in Machinos's direction, then ran across the room toward him and leapt, swinging the blade back as he did so…and, just as Machinos was about to slice Paradox's head clean off his shoulders…

"_YAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGHH_!"

Machinos emitted a loud scream, then released his hold on Paradox, also dropping the sword in the process. From behind him, the General landed on the ground, his sword still brandished; its tip was now stained bright red, with hints of black. Robotic blood. And, seeing how Machinos had screamed and was now clutching his back with one of his hands, it wasn't hard for the kids to tell whose bloodshed it was.

The tyrant was still clutching the bright red mark sliced into his back, his teeth clenched and his breath coming in hissing gasps, as the General finally sheathed his sword, then began to make a run for the door, pushing past the Riders as he did so. The Riders were much too shocked by his previous action to do anything about it, and the kids, seeing their chance, quickly got atop Skyrider and bolted out of the doorway after him, while Machinos finally recovered somewhat, and looked toward the door, furiously.

"That son of a—" he began, but he was too angry to finish. Picking up his sword, he sheathed it back into his belt, then turned to the two Riders. "Go after him at once! He's gone too far this time. I shall make sure _personally_ that he never lives this down."

Upon arriving outside, Machinos could see that the General's horse was missing, as was Skyrider and her riders. Deciding that they had already began their run across Pachyderm Range, he snorted, then mounted his horse and, turning it around toward the field, kicked into its sides and snapped the reins, causing it to charge across, in hot pursuit. The Riders mounted their horses as well, then followed suite, still rather awed at why the General had turned against his own master. They figured that it had something to do with Paradox, but due to their shortness of mind they did not remember…

That was not important in this case, however; all that they knew was that the General had betrayed Machinos by cutting him and allowing his victims to escape, and that they had to do something about it. They continued to charge across the range, picking up speed as they did so, until they finally saw the shape of a silver horse loom into view. Knowing at once whose horse this was, Machinos growled, then urged his horse to go faster. One of the Riders, sensing that this was the best time to act, slowly let go of his horse's reins, then gripped his bow tightly in one hand and reached behind him for one of the poison arrows…

The kids and their alternates, meanwhile, were still riding ahead, sure that they had lost Machinos, when there was a whirring noise, and an arrow shot by their heads, narrowly missing Codebird's wing. The bird yelped and grabbed onto Jacqueline, who snorted at him, then turned around in time to see the three advancing shapes on the horizon. Naturally, she knew who they were and what they wanted.

"Great," she huffed angrily, turning back toward the road ahead of them. "Matthew, they finally came to their senses and they're gaining on us, just so you know."

_She says it like it's no big deal_, Jackie thought to herself as she looked behind her at her pursuers, who appeared to be drawing ever closer by the moment. Shuddering at the thought that they wouldn't make it, she quickly looked away, then called to Matthew, "Matthew, can't you make her go _any_ faster?"

"I'm doing the best that I can!" Matthew called back to her, sounding frustrated. "Just hang on; we're coming to the end of the range as is!"

Jackie said nothing more, for she could indeed see that the end of the range was in view; it was a long grove of trees, stretched out across the field's horizon. Crossing her fingers, she hoped that they would be able to make it without being shot at again, let alone survive the entire thing altogether…

Skyrider was going faster than she appeared to be, for within a few moments they had left the field of the range and had entered the grove of trees. The horse did not falter, however, and continued to dart between trees and leap over dead logs in her path. Digit, knowing very well what had happened to him last time this happened and did not want to relive it, held on tight to the horse's back, along with Inez's waist, so that he would not lose his balance or fall off again.

Within a few moments into the woods, they heard the sound of crackling leaves and soon enough knew that Machinos and the remainder of his party had entered the forest after them. Sighing. Jacqueline, finally fed up with the chase, turned herself around, removed her bow from the quiver, and slowly took out an arrow along with it. Placing it in the bow, she aimed for the nearest Dark Rider, pulled it back, then fired it.

Being the excellent archer that she was, the arrow struck the Rider's horse directly in the throat, and it gave out a loud scream before silencing and collapsing into a heap. The Rider fell off in the process, rolling across the ground and finally stopping near a dead log. Jacqueline, refusing to falter, took out another arrow, then aimed for the other Rider and shot it, striking the other horse in the throat as she did so. This horse did the same thing that the first had done; it let out a loud whinny before ending it in a choking sound, then crumpling to the ground in a heap, knocking its Rider off in the process.

Now there came the most important part of slowing them down, it seemed. Reaching back into her quiver for one last arrow, she slowly placed it in the bow, all the time keeping her eyes directly on Machinos as she did so, then, her gaze still locked on the tyrant, slowly raised the bow, pulled it back, then fired it as best she could. The aim was true, sure enough, and fortunately for her—it struck Machinos's horse in the muzzle, and, surprised by the sudden timing, the horse whinnied, then bucked, knocking Machinos off and sending him down in the leaves with the other Riders.

Smiling triumphantly, she returned the bow to the quiver, then dusted off her hands as she turned back to the front. The others were staring at her, and Matthew was looking at her, ready to congratulate her for her good aim.

"Well done, Jacqueline!" he said, smiling, before he turned his eyes back on the road. "That won't stop them from coming after us on foot, however. We still need to get across the creek before they catch us in time. The rapids over there are too strong for someone their size to take, but a horse can handle it just fine."

Matt at first didn't believe this, but upon turning around and watching the fallen party he could see that his alternate was right. The Riders, although slightly battered, were slowly getting to their feet, staring at them as they departed from the area, along with Machinos, who was glaring at them in blind fury, almost like a madman. Shuddering, he turned around and refused to look back thereafter.

They were nearly at the creek when suddenly a black and white horse jumped out in front of them, blocking their path and startling Skyrider, who reared back and pawed the air with her hooves before finally settling back to the ground, upon noticing that the other horse was familiar. She and Macbeth slowly looked at each other curiously, as the General, who was upon the horse and looking rather haggard, looked at the kids with an almost helpless and apologetic look.

Jacqueline, being rather stubborn, did not notice it and thus narrowed her eyes at the robot standing in front of them, and threateningly reached behind her for her bow and arrow. "What are you doing here?" she hissed. "Get out of the way before I make you."

The General, knowing that this would probably be her reaction, sighed, then said, sounding rather desperate, "Listen, I don't intend to hurt yas. I just want…I just want to talk to Paradox for a moment…"

Jacqueline scoffed. "You expect me to believe that?"

The General looked rather helpless again for a few moments, before finally speaking again. "I swear upon 'da book itself 'dat I do not intend to bring yas any harm. I told you, I just want to talk to Paradox for a moment."

"Why? So you can hurt him again?" Jacqueline sounded rather angry with him now. "Get out of the way, and let us pass the creek before Machinos finds us here! Do you have any clue that you're holding us up?"

The General narrowed his eyes. "Fine, 'den. If you think 'dat 'dis is more important 'den what I have to say, go ahead. Cross your blasted creek. See if I could do anything to stop yas at all. Because I won't, and I never will try to."

Jacqueline rolled her eyes at him before speaking to Matthew. "Matthew, come on. Guide Skyrider over to the creek. He has nothing more to do with us than to hold us up in time for the remainder of the party to come and—"

Before she could finish her sentence, however, there was the sound of rustling leaves, then the two Dark Riders of the party came charging through the bushes, angry looks on their faces. Upon spotting the kids and their alternates, they both growled, then reached behind them for their special weapons. The General, sensing the danger at once—he knew what was in those arrows, naturally—turned toward the kids and pointed toward the creek.

"Go on!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide as he eyed the arrows, which were now being drawn out of the quiver. "Go on! Get out of here before they shoot at yas! Trust me on dis for once! Just get out of here!"

Matthew looked at him suspiciously, then shrugged it off and guided Skyrider across the creek. The Riders aimed at the horse, but before they could have the chance to fire the General fought back at them rather swiftly, in the process brandishing his sword and slicing one of their heads clean off. The beheaded Rider's head fell in the dust, while the body crumpled to the ground, and the second Rider, awed at this action as much as what he had done to Machinos earlier at the house, looked at him, his pupil-less eyes wide.

"You won't harm 'dem anymore," the General growled at the Rider. "Not if I can help it. Get out of here while you still have 'da legs to carry you."

The Rider was awestruck at this behavior, and merely stood there as the General growled at him one last time, then turned his horse around and started for the creek. Skyrider was now well across and, confident that they could not possibly become caught after this feat, dropped down behind a tree to rest themselves and to overcome the shock. However, it was only the beginning of the horrible event that was yet to come.

As the General guided his horse to the creek, the Rider finally recovered from the shock and, realizing that the General was no longer one of them, issued a low, angry growl from within his throat, then ran toward him angrily. The General, sensing the danger, turned around in time to see the Rider approach his horse's side, but before he could do any harm to either of them, the General hit him square in the jaw, then, while the Rider was still trying to recover from the shock, unsheathed his sword yet again and sliced him in a diagonal cut through the chest. The Rider let out a choking noise as blood spilled down from the wound, then slowly dropped to the ground feet first, allowing the blackness of death to finally overtake him.

Narrowing his eyes at the Rider, the General made an annoyed noise, then sheathed his sword and guided Macbeth into the creek waters. All was seemingly going well for him, but his peaceful moment was about to be ended abruptly and brutally, as at that very moment Machinos came into the area. He had run slower due to the fact that the cut in his back was fresh and still highly painful, but now catching the sight of the General—he was farther out and halfway across the creek—his eyes narrowed, a low snarl escaped his throat, and he clenched his fists.

He could not cross the creek on foot, however; despite the fact that the water was slightly shallower than the other parts of the creek, the rapids were too strong. Growling, he narrowed his eyes further in frustration and rage, but he was not to let his quick thinking completely vanish behind the red. Looking down, he could see the fallen Rider next to his feet, obviously dead, but that wasn't important to him right now, nor the thing that had caught his ideal gaze. It was the poisonous arrows, which the Rider still had strapped to his back, that did the trick for that. One blow could drop an elephant in thirty seconds, he knew…it would cause a slow and painful death, he knew…

Not wishing to ponder any further, he reached down, took the bow from the Rider's cold, lifeless hands, then reached into the quiver for one of the arrows. Placing it in the bow, he looked out at the General, who was still crossing the creek, unsuspecting of the fact that he was even there. Snickering in triumph, the robotic tyrant slowly pulled the bow's string back, knowing that this would be too easy.

The General may have not noticed this, but Paradox, who was watching from across the creek, did. Upon catching a glimpse of Machinos—with a bow and arrow, of all things, in his hands, aimed at the General—he suddenly realized what was to happen, and gasped shortly before crying out, "_NO_!"

It was proven to be in vain, however. Machinos, ignoring the robot's cry, released the arrow, and the aim, though not directly calculated, had proven to be true—the arrow shot through the air and embedded itself directly into the General's side; he let out a loud scream of pain and agony as this happened, nearly twisting around due to the force, a few blood droplets falling from the wound and staining molecules of the creek water.

Machinos, smiling at himself for his good aim, decided to pain him a bit more and picked up another arrow, then placed it in the bow and quickly released it. The second shot struck the horse in the neck; it gave a loud whinny, then reared up and pawed the air with its hooves, before the poison finally overtook its body, its legs buckled out from under it and it collapsed in a heap, splashing headfirst below the water. As a result, the wounded General was knocked off, and he landed on the ground a few yards from the spot where his horse had sunk. Rolling over a few times, he finally came to a stop on his back, then gasped a few times as an intense pain overtook him. He didn't want to move. He didn't want to breathe. He didn't want to live…

Paradox, having seen the General fall, let out a quick gasp, then, before anyone could stop him, ran across the creek-bed to the spot where the General lay. The Freedom Fighters stared at him for a few moments, before a muffled whimper from the wounded horse snapped them out of their trance; Zeny ran down to the spot where the horse had fallen to retrieve it from the water, before it drowned.

Paradox ignored the attempts to get the horse out of the water, they were merely noises that belonged in the background for him. He approached the General slowly, tears forming in his eyes as he eyed the arrow embedded into his old friend's side. He was unable to look at it for a few moments, but, knowing that his friend was more important than the sight of him, slowly knelt down beside him, a sorrowful gaze on his face.

The General did not speak for a few moments, and in these moments Paradox thought that he had already died. But after these moments passed, the robot finally groaned, then opened his eyes halfway, looking up at the figure that knelt next to him. He recognized the vivid blue eye at once.

"Paradox…" he murmured, before he closed his eyes again. Paradox whimpered, but the General spoke again, although his voice sounded weak and tired, "Paradox…take it out."

Paradox was puzzled by the General's request, but his gaze then fell on the arrow in his side. The General spoke again, in an almost pleading tone, "Please, Paradox…take it out. I don't want it in anymore…take it out…please…"

Paradox looked at him, then at the arrow, and had begun to reach for it when he suddenly stopped, his eyes grew watery, and he withdrew his hand quickly. Hiding his face in one hand, he said, sounding choked, "I—I c-can't…if I do…y-you'll bleed to death. I d-don't w-want that t-to happen…"

"Paradox," the General reassured him, opening the eye that was nearest to him, "I'm a dead man as it is. It's too late to change anything anymore. Just take it out…please, take it out…"

The robot looked at him again, then a single tear trickled down from his cheek as he eyed the arrow yet again. Allowing a shuddery sigh to escape from his throat, the robot slowly reached toward the arrow, and, grasping the tip, slowly yanked it out, as so not to have anything break off inside him. The General shook a bit as the arrow was removed, but made no noise; he was too weak. Paradox tossed the arrow aside, as blood began to flow from the open wound, making a small pool on the ground. The General sighed, glad that the detested item was out, then looked up toward the sky, which was beginning to darken; the stars were already beginning to appear.

"Thank you," he said softly; then he brought his gloved hand forward, allowing it to rest on Paradox's. The blue-eyed robot was already beginning to sob, but upon sensing his hand on him, he looked up. The General slowly spoke, sounding more hoarse and weak by the moment: "Paradox, there's nothing you can do, and you know it. But…before I die, I want to tell you what I was trying to request at the creek earlier."

"What?" Paradox whimpered. "What did you want to tell me?"

"I wanted to tell you…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything 'dat I've done in 'da past. I let envy overtake me…and it nearly led to your fate. And when I finally realized 'dat you were alive, I wasn't…I tried to kill you. I was desperate to apologize, but you never gave me 'da chance…"

Paradox sobbed, then took the General's hand in his and said, softly, "I'm sorry, too. I'm sorry that I ever doubted that you had turned against me. We were such good friends back then, Pray…nothing could ever stop us. Nothing could ever come between us like this. But now…it's too late to change…I'm so sorry…"

"It's my fault, and my fault only," the General told him; he was now at his weakest point. "God, 'dis hurts so much…why'd it have to be black-gold creek adder poison…? I'll be so glad when it's all over…and I'll never have to go through 'dis again…" He then looked up at the stars, until his gaze fell upon a certain one. When he was sure that Paradox was still looking at him, he extended a shaking hand toward the heavens and said, still sounding weak, "Paradox…do you see 'dat star up 'dere? 'Da one on 'da left, near 'dat tree?"

Paradox looked up, and scanned the skyline until he found the star. Nodding, he looked back down at him, then said, "Yes…but why are you mentioning this to me?"

The General smiled. "Well, do you remember in 'da past, when we both used to look up at 'da stars, and I always said 'dat when I leave, I'm headed for 'dat particular star up 'dere?"

Paradox nodded. "Yes…I do…"

"Well, it's finally come true," he said; then he gently squeezed Paradox's hand with the last of his strength, and whispered, "I'll be there for you. Goodbye, my dear friend. Never forget me for as long as you live…"

He then uttered a shaky sigh, before closing his eyes and letting the blackness wash over him. As every bit of his life drained from him, his body fell limp, his head flopped to one side, and his hands went cold, despite the warmth in the night air. Paradox looked down at him for a moment, unable to speak, then finally realized the truth, the horrible truth that had come upon him so hard.

Praefectus Bombilare, commander of the Machinos army and one of the only friends that he had ever had in his life, had finally passed away. He was headed to the place where he would feel no more pain. And Paradox, his admirer and loyal comrade, would finally have to say goodbye. Forever.


	28. Return Home

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XXVIII: "Return Home"

Shortly after the General finally passed on, Paradox had left the body and had cried in mourning for hours that night. None of the others could do anything about it; they had to let him be while they made decisions on where to go in the morning. Zeny had hauled Macbeth out of the creek and was currently tending to the horse as best she could, hoping that it wouldn't die along with its master. Sure enough, the horse turned out to be fine, if not a bit weak, after a few hours of doctoring.

As Macbeth slowly got to its feet, Zeny patted it on the nose before returning to the spot where she had been lying earlier. Noticing that Macbeth had turned out just fine after being struck with the poison, Matt was slightly awed, and as a result decided upon talking to the girl later that night, just as they were going to try and sleep for the night.

"Zeny," he said, just as he sat down beside the girl, "I'm just wondering about something or another…" He gestured toward Macbeth, who was now staring at Skyrider with a rather confused look; Skyrider was returning the gaze. "How come the horse managed to survive after being struck with the arrow, but the General didn't make it? It doesn't make any sense to me."

Zeny looked at him for a few moments, then finally replied, "I don't exactly know how it managed to survive after being struck with the arrow, but I think it had something to do with it splashing down into the creek after being shot. By what Paradox said, the arrow was made with black-gold creek adder poison, and everyone around here knows that that kind of poison is highly venomous."

"So, how did it survive?"

Zeny sighed, then looked up toward the sky as she replied, "If I can remember correctly, black-gold creek adder poison will only invade the system if it's in the open air, or in contact with blood. The arrow struck Macbeth in the neck, all right, and embedded itself there rather well, but I think when the horse splashed below the water the arrow must've come unhitched from the neck due to the rapids. It wasn't there when we pulled it out of the water."

"The horse, or the arrow?"

"The arrow...we pulled the _horse_ out of the water."

"Ah, okay…" Matt looked up toward the sky again, then sighed and said, "So, what you're saying is, Macbeth was struck with the arrow, but when she fell into the water the arrow somehow managed to come loose from her neck, is that correct?" 

Zeny nodded. "Also, blood doesn't exactly come out very well in contact with water."

"So, if we had known this earlier, we would've still been able to save the General, right?"

"Matt, please," Zeny told him, shaking her head. "It's impossible to have altered the past any more than we did. The General was a dear friend to Paradox, if not to us, and we can't go saying things around him that we could've saved him when we had the chance. It'll only make us feel more guilty than we already are."

"Why should we be guilty? Machinos was the one that killed him, not us."

"I know, but…" Zeny bit her lip before continuing. "Don't you see what happened? The General may have betrayed us quite a few times, but he made up for it by saving us from his master…back in the farmhouse, remember? He released Codebird, then cut Machinos across the back just as he was about to kill Paradox. If it hadn't been for him, we wouldn't be sitting here talking about it right now."

Matt nodded; he was finally beginning to get the full picture. "Yeah…and then when we went to the edge of the creek, he stopped in front of us and demanded that he talk to Paradox. But Jacqueline…Jacqueline told him to get out of the way, and he just let us go. He didn't try to block us or anything." He shook his head. "I'll bet you anything that he wanted to tell Paradox that he was sorry…but we wouldn't let him…and now it's too late to do anything. He's dead."

"We can't talk about this in front of Paradox," Zeny sighed, shaking her head again. "I mean, up until now I didn't realize that they were that close. Imagine losing a friend as close to you as that…" Matt knew very well what he would do if he lost Inez, Jackie, or Digit, and in his view Paradox was doing the only logical thing for a young mind to do at the time. "I don't know what we can do. Nothing seems to help him…not even Inez, and you know how much he likes her…"

"So, what do you suggest that we do? Bring him back to life or something?"

Zeny glared at him, then she looked over in time to see Macbeth, who was standing at the edge of the creek, a far-off look on its face as it eyed the spot where Machinos had supposedly been standing when the arrow was fired. Its mane and tail were blowing lightly in the very little breeze that hung about, and every now and then it let out a longing nicker.

"Look at it," she told Matt, gesturing toward the horse. "It knows that its master's gone."

Matt looked at the horse, then nodded sadly. "Even the horse misses him," he sighed. "It isn't fair. When he finally decides to give up his past and come over to our side, he gets killed." He shook his head. "I wish that there was something that we could do to get this out of our minds. We can't go traveling thinking about how the General was trying to show us that he had finally crossed over, and about the fact that we didn't listen until it was too late."

Zeny nodded sadly in agreement. "The body is still lying near the spot where he had died. Unfortunately, we can't bring him back to life…although I do wish that we could. But I do know another thing that we can do to wish him a peaceful afterlife, and to get the feeling out of our minds, if not a bit."

"What may that be?"

"A funeral." Zeny said these two simple words as she picked up a stone from the ground, then threw it toward the creek. "Somehow, a burial just makes things better for everyone. And, even if it doesn't help a night, it _is_ better than just leaving him there to be picked apart by cyber-buzzards…" She watched as the rock disappeared underneath the bank with a quiet _PLUNK_. "But it needs to be proper. I'll ask Matthew to fashion a casket—he always seems to know how to make things better than I do—and I'll dig a grave first thing in the morning. We'll hold the ceremony itself before we head out again."

"A funeral," Matt said, sounding rather uneasy as he stared down at the ground. "Right."

Zeny smiled, then patted his hand before getting up from the ground. "We'll hold it early morning tomorrow, before Machinos decides to go looking for us again. Even though he's the only member of the party left, he's sure to come after us either way." She gave him a friendly wave before she turned around and headed off to ask Matthew. "Good night."

Matt slept uneasily through the night, and the next morning, just as Zeny promised, the burial was held. It was neither big nor fancy, but it seemed to be enough to honor the dead robot and go on their way. For about an hour they had stood at the edge of the newly dug grave, their heads bowed; Paradox was still sobbing, and Jackie, being the person that she was that didn't enjoy these sights, was patting him gently on the shoulder, trying to comfort him. It didn't work, however, he continued his crying fit, while Matt stood at the edge, thinking over his past thoughts about the General.

He had remembered the day that he had first seen him…it wasn't too long ago, only more than a week. And in that week and over he had chased them, kidnapped Digit, killed the Felinus family, and had probably done countless other things, all the while by Machinos's side. It didn't seem to him at all that the General would ever consider a change of heart, much less toward the people who had once been his mortal enemies.

He had been wrong the entire time. When the General was about to finally give in and cross over at long last, he never had the chance; Machinos shot him before he could even make it through the creek, of all places. And then he had died, quietly, and had shown a great deal of bravery in front of Paradox, it seemed. He didn't want to die; no one ever did at first. But at the point of dying one realizes that it isn't so bad, and isn't so painful after all…they let the blackness overtake them, and when they once were in great pain, they felt it no longer. They let themselves slip away into infinite blackness. And they belonged to the ages forever more.

All these thoughts were running to his head as Jacqueline and Matthew, who had been gone during the period of mourning, emerged from behind the creek bushes, carrying a small wooden casket on their shoulders. Knowing that this was the General's coffin, Matt quickly bowed his head before they lowered it into the grave, by hand. They had to kneel down in order to get it to the bottom of the grave without dropping it, and, upon finally settling it down into the dirt, got up, then began to toss the earth back into the hole, covering the casket and filling the grave itself.

Paradox finally paused in his sobbing to look at the grave, taking one last glance at the wooden pattern engraved on the casket's front before it was covered in soil, possibly for eons to come. In moments, however, the entire grave had been filled in, and Jacqueline and Matthew got to their feet, dusting off their hands. Jacqueline turned away and began to walk back toward the spot where they had retrieved the body, a thoughtful look on her face, while Matthew sighed as he looked at the mound of earth that lay before him.

"It's better than leaving him on the ground," he said, "but it looks much too ordinary. If anyone stops by this area of the forest, they'll think that it's either another mound of earth or a dead, buried animal, and it isn't either. I wish that we had something to place for a grave marker, anything might be able to—"

It was then that Jacqueline came back, carrying something in her hand. At first Matthew thought that she was just carrying back another stick, but he soon realized that she was carrying a sword…the General's sword. In her other hand, he could finally see, was the poisonous arrow that had killed the robot in the first place, its tip still stained bright red with the blood of him. He looked at her as she stopped in front of him, a rather puzzled look.

"I found these lying near the spot where he'd been shot," she informed him, dropping them at his feet. "I figured that since we don't have very many materials left for a real grave marker, we could use these somehow."

Matthew thought for a moment, then he finally smiled. "Jacqueline, that's genius. We can use these for a grave marker, and we won't even have to do anything to alter it." He picked up the sword and ran his fingers along the hilt of the blade. "It's still sharp…I think I know exactly what to do with this."

Without further hesitation, he slowly walked to the head of the General's grave, then brought the sword upward above his head and drove it down into the earth, to the point where the tip had vanished into it. He then slowly released his hold from the handle, and stepped backward. The kids and their alternates looked at the "grave marker" for a while, before Inez finally said, "Well…that looks rather dramatic, I suppose."

Matthew nodded. "It's not very fancy, but it's best that we make do with what we've got. Now that the ceremony is over—" He cleared his throat, then headed over to the area where Skyrider and Macbeth were tied up—"I suggest that we get going. I have an odd feeling that we're going to find the Portal of Forty somewhere in this area today." He laughed. "I suppose that I shouldn't get my hopes up, or yours, for that matter…there's a good chance that we might not."

"I didn't need that," Digit sighed as he walked after Matthew; the others looked up at him, then followed suite. Paradox stayed behind for a few more moments to stare at the sword that now marked the General's grave, a far-off look on his face. He would never see his friend again…and now that Inez had refused him, he had nothing left…but he knew that it was wrong to take his own life in order to join the deceased. Pray wouldn't have wanted that, Inez didn't want it, and surely Jamie, if he had still been alive at this time, would never have approved. He just shook his head sadly as he stared at the grave, as another tear ran down his cheek, then fell, dropping to the pile of earth in front of him.

"Be there for me," he whispered quietly, before he finally raised his eyes from the grave and slowly began his walk after the others, his head hanging lower than it had ever been before in his life, possibly.

After about an hour of riding, the kids were beginning to drift off into sleep, when Zeny suddenly cried out, "Hey!", jolting the others out of their half-dream state. Looking up, Matthew looked in her direction, then looked in the direction that she was currently pointing in. At first his eyes could not adjust very well due to the fact that he, too, had been half-asleep, but when his vision finally cleared, he could see very well what Zeny was pointing at.

It had turned out to be a rather large statue of a fish, standing upright on its tail, in the classic leaping position atop a boulder. Its shadow was casting an eerie darkness upon the forest that was on either side of it. Everything else was entirely still, except for the occasional clopping of the horses' hooves, and the slight whinny of pain from Macbeth every now and then—the horse still hadn't managed to completely recover from the blow of the arrow. At first there was no comment from anyone as they drew nearer to the fish statue, but after a while Matt, being the person that he was, finally decided to comment; he had been staring at the fish oddly for quite a few moments.

"Man!" he exclaimed, refusing to break his gaze from the fish. "If there was an award for odd landmarks, this place would definitely win the gold!"

Matthew looked at him strangely for a moment, then turned to look up at the fish. "This is a sacred statue, I believe," he informed them, slowly turning Skyrider sideways as so to walk around it; Paradox, who was riding on Macbeth, did the same. "It was used eons ago by the ancients…although I don't know why it was a fish, exactly…"

"That doesn't matter, anyway," Jacqueline told him, sounding rather miffed, before she turned to look up at the fish. That was when she caught something out of the corner of her eye, something that shouldn't have been there, and although she was originally, and always would be, a tough girl, she tensed up when she realized who that dark figure standing atop the fish head, mounted on his horse, was. "Uh…Matthew…"

"What—" Matthew began to say, but before he could finish something whizzed through the air, grazing his shoulder before striking the dust. An intense pain ripped through his arm as this happened; looking down, he could see why…someone atop the statue had fired an arrow. Not just any arrow, however; the poisonous arrow…the same type of arrow that had wounded the horse and killed the General. He knew that there was only one being that possessed those arrows, and he, too, tensed up.

"What's he doing here!" Matthew exclaimed, almost under his breath, his eyes wide with surprise. "Doesn't he know that he's hopelessly outnumbered…?"

"Apparently not," Zeny sighed; she then said to Matthew, "But we can't fight him right now. We may be good fighters, and we may outnumber him easily, but besides Jacqueline we're completely unarmed."

"I know, but still, we—" Matthew began, but before he could finish yet again, the horse charged to the head of the fish, then kicked off, leaping in an arc across the grass before landing gracefully. The black horse snorted, then turned around and, obeying its master's guide, charged toward them. Paradox managed to move Macbeth out of the way, as did the kids, but Machinos didn't seem to want anything to do with him at the moment. As his horse passed, he leapt off, skidding across the grass before eventually slowing himself to a stop. He then withdrew his sword and, with incredible agility and uncanny accuracy, plunged it deeply into Skyrider's side. The horse screamed in pain, then fell to the ground as Machinos withdrew the blade, leaving the kids and their alternates to have to make do on foot. Skyrider was already too badly injured for anything, now.

Zeny wanted to tend to her horse as best as possible, but she knew that she didn't have the time for that right now and instead looked at the robot—and found, to her horror, that as Skyrider fell he had grabbed Codebird and now had him pinned to the ground, struggling to get himself free as Machinos held one of the arrows above him. Gasping, she brought her hands to her mouth, and stared at him, as he finally looked up at her.

"You should know that I never give up, my little _friend_." He said the last word as if it were some kind of curse. "You may have tarnished what was left of my search party, and that pathetic excuse for a commander may have passed on, but you are not getting away without an honest fight. And if you refuse upon anything, or flee, I shall do away with your precious little bird…just as I did away with my mediocre general."

Zeny growled in anger and clenched her fists, and, before anyone could react, she darted behind Jacqueline, snatched the bow and one of the arrows out of the quiver, then placed it in the bow, pulled it back, and released it in a split second. It struck its selected target with a loud _SPLACCCK_, and the victim screamed in anger and fury. Releasing Codebird, the tyrant clutched his arm, where the arrow had struck it; blood was beginning to ooze down from the wound and stain the tan of his sleeve a dark brown.

During this moment of distraction, Codebird quickly crawled out from Machinos's spot and, pulling himself to his feet, quickly ran the rest of the way, throwing himself into the girl's arms. Zeny dropped the bow and hugged him back, then glared at Machinos before releasing Codebird and running over toward the woodland area. She had already known what her plan was to be, but she needed more than herself to make it work correctly. And that meant using Matthew and Jacqueline. The kids would be left by themselves, no doubt, but it would only be for a moment, and Machinos seemed to be too occupied with the arrow to do anything about it.

She was proven to be wrong, however. No sooner than had she convinced Jacqueline and Matthew to go with her for a few moments and left did Machinos finally recover from the shock of the arrow. Seething with anger, he narrowed his eyes, then turned around to face the kids, who were still standing next to Skyrider's fallen body, and hissed, "You will pay dearly for your actions, children. You will pay _dearly_…"

Jackie at first thought that her alternate would rush in and protect them from any further harm, but upon looking around she finally realized that they had gone from the area. Swallowing hard, she looked back at Machinos, then, out of natural instinct, turned around and did the only thing that she could think of in a situation such as this one—she ran for her life. Matt and Inez, along with Digit, watched her, then looked back at Machinos, then, deciding that what she was doing was the only thing that they _could_ do at the time, turned around and ran as well. Machinos naturally ran after them, and this time he ignored the pain in his back and shoulder. All that was on his mind now was death…and he knew very well who he wanted to die.

The kids seemed to know that he was chasing him, for they picked up speed, refusing to falter even once, and never stopping to glance behind them. They continued to run for the longest time, it seemed…and, unfortunately for them, due to the fear and tension of the chase, they did not notice the large, jutting ledge in front of them.

By the time that they saw it, however, it was too late. They lost their balance upon coming to the edge and hung in the air for a few moments, it seemed, then they began to fall. It all seemed to be happening in slow motion for them…they could clearly see that the ledge was growing farther and farther away with every second, but before it came to the point where they were unable to make out any details they could see Machinos, standing at the ledge with a look of terrific shock upon his face.

As soon as he disappeared, however, the relief of having escaped from him immediately turned to fear. Although they had escaped death from the robotic tyrant, it would not stop them from meeting their fate on the ground below. In his mind, Inez seemed to know exactly what would happen when they hit the ground…they would be crushed to a pulp from the impact, their blood would splatter across the ledge, and there would be the most horrible noise to follow…she didn't even want to think about it anymore. Ignoring the screaming of the wind in her ears, she closed her eyes tightly and waited for the impact.

It never came, however; either that or the ledge was further up than she realized. She seemed to be floating, now, in a slow, steady motion, and she was sure that the others were doing the same thing beside her. She enjoyed this feeling; it reminded her of all the past experiences that she had with portals, but she knew that it was soon to come to a sudden end as soon as she hit the ground…

Sure enough, she began to speed up again, only this time she appeared to be going faster than she had before. She heard Jackie screaming over the sound of the wind, and she heard Digit pleading for his life, but she could hear nothing more…just a few more seconds, she knew, until they all would die…just a few more seconds…

_THUD_!

Sure enough, she felt herself hit the ground, but to her surprise it wasn't hard at all, nor did it seem to hurt intensely. She felt a little sore, but it was nothing compared to what she'd been through in the past. She had assumed that she had been first, for after a while she could hear three other sounds exactly like the sound she had made as they hit the ground as well. She lay there for a few moments, wondering if she was crushed to pieces yet or not, and wondering when she would finally cross over.

_Wait a minute_…she suddenly thought. _If I'm dead, how can I hear the other three?_

Finally daring to open one eye, she glanced around in time to see herself surrounded by a grove of rather familiar looking palm trees. Opening the other eye, she slowly brought her upper body up from the ground, and as her hands hit the substance, she found that it was sand. Upon looking around some more, she broke out into a wide smile; she knew that she recognized this place and had been here before.

"Guys!" she exclaimed, turning to look at the others, who were lying in odd positions in the sand. She shook Matt, who was nearest to her, awake first, then said, rather excitedly, "Guys, wake up! You won't believe where we are!"

"Huh?" Matt said, lazily opening one eye; he was about to close it again when he saw the sand. Opening both eyes in surprise, he too sat up, then looked around him. Inez knew that he appeared to have recognized the place too, for he grinned hugely, then he began snickering, then he finally laughed and, getting to his feet, began to dance around in triumph. "We're back!" he called out, pumping the air with his fists. "We're back! I don't believe it! We're back! We're back in our own world!" He laughed and clicked his heels together, then bent down and kissed the sand. Inez rolled her eyes, then looked over at Jackie and Digit just as they, too, finally stirred.

Digit was the first one to recognize his surroundings, and upon doing so let out a whoop of joy, then began dancing around excitedly around with Matt. Jackie nearly cried at the sight of this familiar cybersite, but it was against her dignity to do so, and instead she too, got to her feet, but instead of dancing walked over and stood by Inez.

"I—I don't believe this," she said happily, staring out at the beach that lay before her. "I can't believe that we actually managed to somehow find the Portal of Forty and get back here…"

"Neither do I," Inez confessed; then she looked up toward the sky in time to see a familiar vehicle descend from the clouds and land on the beach. The doors then opened and a tall man got out; he appeared greatly relieved to see them.

"There you are, cybermates!" he exclaimed, running up to them; Digit and Matt stopped dancing, and Digit, recognizing the man at once, flew up to him and wrapped his wings around him in a hug. The Doctor responded by patting him on the head, then said to the kids, "You don't know how long I've been looking for you. Motherboard informed me that she had lost connection with you shortly after you arrived at Proportiona. At first I was afraid that Hacker had somehow managed to harm you."

"No, Doc," Matt told him, shaking his head. "He didn't manage to hurt us at all. Actually, it was far from that."

"And for that I am grateful," Dr. Marbles replied, prying Digit off of him. He then started to walk toward his cybercoupe. "Come, children, we must get you back to your own world at once. You've been gone a long time…I do hope that time is on our side in this case."

"Don't worry about it, Doc," Jackie told him, running over toward the cybercoupe after him and Digit. "After what we've been through, I'll be glad to even get home a few days from the Proportiona incident!"

"I do hope so otherwise," Dr. Marbles replied, looking at her. His expression then became one of confusion. "I say, Jackie, did you somehow manage to change your clothes while you were gone?"

Jackie looked at him, then looked down at herself and, realizing that she was still wearing the old dress that Abigail had given her, quickly looked back up at him and shook her head. "Uh, you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said quickly. "It's a really long story, Dr. Marbles…it'll probably take me a long time to tell you the full details."

Their conversation died out, however, as Inez stood along the beach in the spot where she had landed, staring up at the sky with a far-off look on her face. She had wondered what had become of Machinos…what had become of her alternate…and, most importantly to her, what had become of Paradox. She hoped that he was all right…and she wished him the best of luck in his future years. Even though she had only known him for a while, he had now become a symbol of her time at the dimension, and she was sure that one day, if she ever did return, her first motive would be to find him…say she was sorry…and perhaps suggest otherwise.

_Goodbye, Paradox_…she thought to herself as she continued to stare out into cyberspace. _Never forget me…I'll be sure to never forget you_…

"Inez!" Matt's voice called out, shattering her thoughts. She turned around in time to see him standing up through the opening in the roof of the coupe. "Come on! Do you want to go back home, or should we just leave you here until we come back again?"

"I'm coming, Matt!" she called back in an annoyed tone, then took one last look at the sky before turning back around and heading for the coupe.


	29. Epilogue

****

ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Epilogue

Needless to say, the kids were more than happy to return to their own houses and sleep in a room familiar to them, rather than out in a forest with a diabolical villain chasing after you at every turn. Inez was still thinking about Paradox, she found, for quite a few weeks, but after a while she finally forced it out of her head, seeing that she had more important things to think about—such as the saving of cyberspace, for example. She, Matt and Jackie, along with Digit, knew that they had a job to do, and they mustn't let anything get in the way of it. 

However, after what he'd been through with Machinos, on their next mission Digit appeared more than happy to see Buzz and Delete, although in true life he normally avoided them. When he found them waiting for their boss to return, Digit, instead of going to find the kids, had leapt out and hugged Delete, causing him to let out a scream of surprise.

"Delete!" Digit cried happily, refusing to break his grip from him. "Oh boy, you don't know how happy I am to see you!" He then looked at Buzz and tried to hug him as well, but the robot refused, so Digit merely said, "Buzz! I'm happy to see you, too! I'm happy to see both of you! Oh, God, this is the best moment of my life! I probably don't even know how lucky I am to be stuck here with the _real_ Buzz and Delete!"

"Um…what?" Delete said, but before he could get an answer the bird had left. Buzz and Delete, much too shocked to go after him, stood there awkwardly for a moment, then Delete finally turned to Buzz and said, "What's wrong with him?"

Buzz shrugged. "I figure 'dat it's about time he went crazy," he said. "Having to deal with 'dose meddling kids all 'da time…"

"Oh yeah…speaking of that, don't you think we should probably go after the boss and try to find him, before those kids do something that'll ruin the plan?"

Buzz looked at him, then back in the direction where Digit had run, then his face became one of an awkward notion and he finally said, "Yeah…let's go…I think I'm starting to worry 'dat he'll come out of nowhere again and do 'da same thing he did last time."

Delete nodded in agreement, and the two walked off. However, if they had even heard of the Machinos dimension and how diabolical that Machinos himself could be, they would've thought otherwise about Digit's sudden motives of affection towards them. Buzz knew very little of the fact that his alternate was dead, and Delete knew very little of the fact that his alternate was far from his actual personality. But there might be the chance that they would finally know, if not now…

Machinos stood at the front of the line of soldiers in his army, staring up at the statue of the General (it featured him in a war pose atop his horse) that had been carved personally eons ago to honor his service in the army. Now that he was gone, of course, Machinos saw no need in keeping it intact any longer. The very sight of the statue made his blood boil, and the very thought of the General made him gnash his teeth in anger. Thus, he had ordered several of his strongest soldiers to take it down, in the only way that he knew of.

The soldiers now stood at either end of the statue, holding the chains and ropes that were attached to different areas of the statue. Machinos waited for a few moments before giving the order, and in these few moments one of the soldiers walked up to him. This soldier knew little or nothing of what had happened in the forest, so he merely said, "Machinos, Sire, I don't see why you feel the need to do this. The General was a dear friend to all of us, and now you're tearing down one of the only things we have left of him." He shook his head. "I just don't see why…"

Machinos glared at him coldly, then said, sounding rather low himself, "What happened back at the creek was something that you would never understand if told to you in words, my comrade. The General was a dear friend to all of us…but he has crossed over. He has betrayed us all. I cannot have the statue of a traitor standing in the center of my grounds. I'm sorry, but it has to come down. Eventually this happens to all of us. You'll need to learn that before you consider yourself an honorary soldier." While the soldier was still trying to sort this out, Machinos turned around and shouted at the others, "Tear it down!"

The other soldiers nodded, then, without a moment's hesitation, jerked back on the chains that connected to the statue. With their combined strength, the statue slowly creaked off of its metal post and leaned forward. With one last tug, the statue came loose entirely and crashed to the ground with a deafening impact, breaking itself into a dozen pieces upon doing so. Machinos was unfazed as a large dust cloud rose up over the debris, and after the shock from the impact had passed, he whipped around and began the journey back to his own lair.

"This wasn't something I'd expect of him at all," he muttered to himself as he began his climb up the stone steps. "Now that he's done with, I'll need to find a new commander…precious hours of my time, maybe even days or weeks, will be wasted because of this. I do hope that you're happy, Praefectus C. Bombilare. I do hope that you're happy."

He sighed, then paused in his climbing to look out at the grounds, past the gates that bordered the area and into the field. The shadowy outline of the windmill caught his view, and he narrowed his eyes at the sight of it. He then leaned against the edge, a pang of sadness within him as he did this.

"Accursed creator," he hissed under his breath. "Why did you build me in the first place? To cause torment, of course. Now that you're gone, it's rubbed off on me. You'll never die, will you?" His hiss became a low whisper. "Will you…" He shook his head. "War is the only answer I know, thanks to you. You never liked me, and now I don't like a thing…I have become a mere monstrosity to the human eye. If I can no longer inspire kindness, fear is the only other key I see in my mind. Because of you…" He straightened up and began his climb again, but not before one last hesitation. "You…"

The Freedom Fighters, naturally, were quite surprised when they found that their alternates were gone from the area. In their shock, they had forgotten to deal with Machinos, thus allowing him to get away in the time it took them to realize that it had, indeed, been the Portal of Forty. But it didn't matter much; they had Codebird, they were okay, for the most part, and now that their alternates were gone, they could focus back on their goal of trying to keep Machinos from doing any more harm.

Skyrider had turned out to be okay; the wound wasn't that severe compared to what had happened to her during the Blind Tracker attack, but it still required a lot of doctoring. Zeny had been the one to take care of that, while Jacqueline set up their next camp, and Matthew was sure to watch for any signs of approaching danger. When he found none, he sighed, then slumped against a nearby tree and, picking up a stick from the dirt, began to toy around with it; Codebird watched him.

"You know—" He sighed. "Call me an oddball, but it's a bit too quiet around here without our alternates asking us questions and talking all the time. Do any of you feel the same way?"

Jacqueline and Zeny looked at him; Jacqueline quickly shook her head, while Zeny paused to nod before returning to her doctoring of Skyrider. Codebird looked at the boy, then finally admitted, "You know, it's not going to be the same without…oh, what was his name…oh yeah…Digit going out to fish with me. I mean, he helped me escape from Machinos, and I kind of owe him one for doing so. But I didn't get the chance at all." He shook his head sadly. "But it's too late to do anything now, most likely."

"I'd personally be happy for them," Zeny told them, reaching toward the pile of mud that she'd made to prepare a poultice for Skyrider's side wound. "I mean, think of it this way. They found the portal that finally took them back home, and now we're stuck on our own again. It's not too hard to put it behind us and continue with what we were put here to do." She slapped the mud onto Skyrider's side, then smoothed it over.

"Zeny, that sounds like something I'd say," Jacqueline told her, brushing a tuft of hair out of her face.

Zeny looked at her, then laughed. "Actually, I learned it from you," she admitted. "You said that when we found out that we were stuck in cyberspace for all eternity, I do recall."

"Oh yeah…" She trailed off.

"The main point is, I think, that they should go back to their lives, and we should go back to ours," Matthew explained, finally starting to get a clearer picture. "We indeed have a mission to fulfill, and we can't let the absence of our alternates ruin it for us. I mean, we got along just fine before, and I admit that I'll miss them, too, but we have other things to think about. We can't go thinking about them every time we do something; it's distracting."

Jacqueline and Zeny looked at him, then resumed to what they were doing. Codebird sighed, then rested his head on Matthew's side as he said, rather drowsily, "You know, Matthew, at times like this people tend to respect you, don't they? I mean…geez…they'll be missed, won't they, Matthew?"

"They'll be missed, Codebird," Matthew simply told him, patting the bird on the back before looking out over the horizon. "They'll all be missed."

Paradox had ridden Macbeth through half of the woodlands before he finally decided to stop. Slowing Macbeth to a halt, he slowly dismounted her, then, feeling alone and depressed, slowly lowered himself down onto a nearby log. Sadly looking at the surroundings about him, he had half the intention to leave and never return, but he didn't feel up to it at all. Even stronger was the urge to somehow end this pain that he'd been feeling, and finally get it over with by suicide. But this was not the way, he knew. Self-abuse was never the way. And it would never be until the sun rose its last.

Allowing his sadness to wash over him, he sobbed a bit before looking up toward the woodlands again, still having that urge to run…run far away, where no one would ever be able to hurt him like this again…and yet he felt the need to stay here, even though the horse was his only company, and he guessed that it would be the only company that he'd ever have, now that he knew not of the Freedom Fighter's location and that Inez had gone, not to mention that the Felinus family was dead, and Abigail still imprisoned (Abigail, by the way, had been retrieved from the fallen horses by Machinos shortly after his escape, and had later on been sent to work up in the main plantation)…

His guess was wrong, however. As he continued to stare out into the woodlands, he heard the rustling of dead leaves, and a single shape loomed into view. At first he could not see it full detail, and he had a half intention of running, but instead he merely sat there, feeling tense as the shape drew ever closer. After a few moments, however, he could soon see that it was nothing that wanted to harm him at all; in fact, in truth it was actually far from it.

"Ruben!" Paradox cried out happily; he leapt up from the dead log with renewed energy and quickly picked him up, embracing him tightly. "Ruben…thank God…I thought that you were dead for sure…I saw Machinos shoot you back there at the household…"

"Well, I'm alive," Ruben replied, hugging him back. "The shot wasn't fatal, thank God, but I'm still in a great deal of pain otherwise. It made its way into my back, and now I can't move very well without feeling any pain in that area…" He sighed, then said, "But I'm sure that it's no big deal. I'm still well…"

"And I'm thankful for that," Paradox replied; he then set him down.

Ruben paused to dust himself off, then turned around toward the forest area, just in time to see his new ally come through the trees…Binky, naturally, moved with a slow gait, but in turn was still alive and well, although the journey had worn her down quite a bit. She was still in good health, despite the fact that she was suffering from starvation and was in great need of rest. Upon seeing Ruben, she made the effort to break into a run, then stopped in front of them in time for the pain that she was currently feeling to pass over.

"Paradox," Ruben said, gesturing toward the green cat, "this is Binky. She's going to be our new comrade and guide from now on. I hope that you two get along well for the most part…"

"Pleasure," the two said at once, then Binky walked over and slumped against a nearby log, so that she could rest before she found a nice place to fish. She could smell the creek water in the area, but knew that rest was important to the mind, and would surely stiffen her concentration when it came to dinner. Paradox and Ruben rested beside her, then Ruben looked up at the sky, which was slowly darkening due to the fact that the evenings were becoming longer. Putting his hands behind his back, he gazed up at the dark blue sky with a far-off look on his face.

"You know what I think, Paradox?" he asked the robot; Paradox turned to look at him.

"What?"

"I think that there may be hope for this world yet," he said, sounding rather like he was deeply musing. "Machinos may still be at large, but one individual alone cannot bring the entire world to a halt. Someday, somehow—it may take a long time, but I know for sure—that the world will finally come to a quiet peace. Blood shouldn't have to be the answer anymore. It's not right." He slowly trailed off. "It's not right."

"It's not right," Paradox agreed, nodding, then he too, looked up at the sky. Both of them knew, as they slowly drifted off into a peace of mind, that Machinos would always be there to break them down. But, they also knew that their loved ones, such as Jamie, Pray, and the others who had given their lives—and those who still had theirs to give—would always be there to help them rebuild.

**_And create peace for one and all._**

At times life is wicked and I just can't see the light

A silver lining sometimes isn't enough to make some wrongs seem right

Whatever life brings, I've been through everything

And now I'm on my knees again

But I know I must go on

Although I hurt I must be strong

Because inside I know that many feel this way

Children, don't stop dancing

Believe you can fly

Away…away

At times life's unfair and you know it's plain to see

Hey God I know I'm just a dot in this world, have you forgot about me?

Whatever life brings, I've been through everything

And now I'm on my knees again

But I know I must go on

Although I hurt I must be strong

Because inside I know that many feel this way

Children, don't stop dancing

Believe you can fly

Away…away

Am I hiding in the shadows?

Forget the pain and forget the sorrows

Am I hiding in the shadows?

Forget the pain and forget the sorrows

But I know I must go on (go on)

Although I hurt I must be strong (be strong)

Because inside I know that many feel this way

Children don't stop dancing

Believe you can fly

Away…away

Children, don't stop dancing

Believe you can fly

Away…away…

Am I hiding in the shadows?

Are we hiding in the shadows…?

THE END


End file.
